Stephen Fry surprised by Kaka while filming

Stephen Fry with Kaka. Photos © Karori Sanctuary Trust

‘Stephen was filming the tuatara when a kaka (native forest parrot) appeared out of nowhere and jumped on to his head' said Alan Dicks of the Karori Sanctuary.

‘They are naturally inquisitive, but of the seventy or so kaka living in the 555acre (225ha) sanctuary, only one is known to routinely get this close to visitors. He seemed to have singled Stephen out.'

The kaka, known as Alfie, was one of the original captive-bred birds released into the world-renowned wildlife safe haven in 2002. He has a fondness for ‘preening' human heads and a definite preference for people with a lot of hair.

Fry And Carwardine - Last chance to see
Fry and co-host Mark Carwardine were in New Zealand to film an episode of the new BBC TV show Last Chance to See, which features animal species endangered or threatened with extinction. They were at the world-first wildlife safe haven on the outskirts of the capital, Wellington, to film tuatara (a prehistoric reptile unique to New Zealand) in their only natural home on the mainland.

More about the Karori Sanctuary