This was corroborated by European settlers in New Zealand in the 19th century, among them George Edward Grey, who once wrote in a letter to an associate that his pet kakapo's behaviour towards him and his friends was "more like that of a dog than a bird".
De fick stöd för detta omdöme av europeiska nybyggare på Nya Zeeland på 1800-talet, bland dem George Edward Grey, som en gång skrev i ett brev att hans tama kakapos betedde sig mot honom och hans vänner "mer som en hund än som en fågel".