 In the 1880s , large numbers of <unk> ( stoats , ferrets and <unk> ) were released in New Zealand to reduce <unk> numbers , but they also preyed heavily on many native species including the kakapo . Other browsing animals , such as introduced deer , competed with the kakapo for food , and caused the extinction of some of its preferred plant species . The kakapo was reportedly still present near the head of the <unk> River as late as 1894 , with one of the last records of a kakapo in the North Island being a single bird caught in the Kaimanawa Ranges by Te <unk> <unk> in 1895 . 
