Kākāpō Cam Draws 100,000 Global Viewers Watching Rare Parrot Nurture Her Chick

A hidden black-and-white camera tucked beneath a rātā tree on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island has become an unlikely global phenomenon, drawing more than 100,000 viewers to watch a 24-year-old kākāpō named Rakiura raise her chick in real time.

New Zealand's Department of Conservation launched the kākāpō cam in mid-January, streaming footage from the remote island off the South Island coast. The camera captures Rakiura scooping her chick under her large green wings, fending off intruding birds, tidying her nest, and feeding her offspring beak-to-beak. The chick, identified as Nora-A2 2026, looks, as one description puts it, "more like a sentient ball of fluff than a bird," emitting kazoo-like squeaks while begging for food. Viewers even watched Rakiura lay an egg directly on the livestream back in January.

This breeding season is the first for kākāpō since 2022, and conditions are particularly promising following a bumper mast, a mass fruiting of rimu berries that strongly influences breeding success. Rakiura laid three eggs this season; two hatched. One chick was transferred to a foster mother, while Nora-A2 2026 remained in the nest. Rakiura already has nine living descendants across six breeding seasons, along with numerous grandchicks.

At any given moment, more than 100 people are watching the stream simultaneously, with viewers logging in from the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, Argentina, the United States, the Netherlands, and across New Zealand. The cumulative audience has surpassed 100,000 since the launch. According to DoC, only 236 kākāpō exist in the world, all of them in Aotearoa New Zealand, meaning most people watching will never encounter one in the wild.

The chat forum attached to the stream has become its own community touchpoint, with viewers congratulating Rakiura, debating name suggestions, and sharing personal reflections. "This site is my lovely distraction from all the terrible things happening in the world around us," one viewer wrote. Another offered: "I'm following the story of this nest with curiosity and wonder. Thank you, [Department of Conservation], for your commitment and passion for this extraordinary bird: fighting for the beautiful and wonderful things on this planet is never pointless or a waste of time." When news broke that two of Rakiura's eggs were fertile, one fan responded: "Oh my goodness. I just teared up a little knowing how fragile this species is. It truly is so amazing and so exciting." In the YouTube comments, another simply wrote: "She's a star."

Beyond the emotional resonance, DoC noted that the livestream gives scientists a rare window into kākāpō nesting behaviour without disturbing the birds, while simultaneously building public support for the species' protection. The kākāpō is the world's heaviest parrot and the only flightless parrot species, breeding only every two to four years. With a total population of 236, every hatched chick carries real conservation weight, and Nora-A2 2026 is no exception.