10 untold facts about kakapo, the heaviest parrots on Earth

Although these birds are the world's only parrots unable to fly around, they've got pretty strong legs to make up for it.

In fact, their legs are so strong kakapo are popularly known as fantastic hikers! Their wings serve other purposes such as balance and also to parachute off tree branches.

We know what you're thinking, didn't we mention earlier that they're primarily located in New Zealand, right? Well, that leads us to this point exactly.

Actually, official reports in 2018 revealed that only 147 kakapo existed worldwide. These birds are known to be among the threatened animal species on Earth and you should consider yourself lucky if you ever come across one of them.

Another interesting thing about kakapo are their lengthy years on Earth. If we ever had to learn something from them as humans it'll be to know the secret to their long lives. These birds seem to have all the time in the world as they develop and reproduce.

Think you saw an owl the first time you saw a kakapo? Look again! While these parrots have a funny way of making us think they're owls with very similar physical appearance as well as their nocturnal natures, they actually have nothing in common with these birds.

A publication released by Cornell University revealed that kakapo are among the top "smellers" on Earth, with a sense of smell which is over one and half times stronger than that of humans. They have 667 functional olfactory receptors compared to 400 in humans.

Ever since they've existed, kakapo have never had to fear wild predators. These birds roamed freely on land in remote forests without any reason to defend themselves from larger creatures. It's no wonder they live for so long.

Know how we respond to sudden anxiety through the fight-or-flight system as humans? For kakapo, they only stop and freeze whenever there's a potential threat in their surroundings.

They can't actually fight and so they just stop dead in their tracks and allow their perfectly camouflaged feathers do the rest of the work for them.

It's not only humans who get to have cool names. Since there aren't so many of these birds, it's pretty easy to know their names if you truly love them.

One of them named Maggie was found in 1980 and lived until 2014 when she passed away due to a landslide.

In a bid to preserve this beautiful yet endangered species, Codfish and Anchor islands are the safest places where they're currently being kept. These birds are always monitored to ensure that no harm comes their way.

Adult kakapo measure from 58 to 64 cm (23 to 25 in) in length and weigh from 0.95 to 4 kg (2 to 9 lb).