Kakapo scent and the predator threat

Kākāpō have a distinctive scent, often described as musky or sweet and floral. It can make them easier to locate for predators that hunt by smell, such as introduced stoats and cats. But scent is only one part of their vulnerability: kākāpō cannot fly and nest on the ground, while introduced mammals, hunting, and habitat loss also sharply reduced their population. The species now survives through intensive conservation.