Incredible parrot footage from stolen GoPro shows just how tough these cams really are

(Image credit: Alex Verheul)

published 4 February 2022

GoPro is very proud of how robust its cameras are. Today's best GoPros will keep filming through a downpour, are happy to take a dip in the sea, and won't complain if they end up taking a tumble down a rocky mountainside on a mountain bike ride. But are they a match for a parrot attack?

It's not a test we imagine is routinely run on these action cameras, but a New Zealand family found its GoPro facing just that situation – and it held up impressively well. In a week when GoPro announced it'd soon be shaking things up with two new, non-HERO cameras, it's the battle of parrot versus GoPro that's attracting the most attention.

As reported by local news outlet 1news, a New Zealander family was hiking the Kepler Track in the Fiordland region when they were joined by some kea – a species of large parrot found in the South Island. They set up their GoPro to film the birds, when one snatched up the camera up and flew off with it – with the GoPro still filming.

Kea Flies away with GoPro - YouTube

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The incredible captured footage shows the kea's flight across the countryside – itself a pretty solid advertisement for the GoPro's image stabilisation tech – before it lands and launches an attack on the GoPro. You see the bird tearing strips of plastic off the camera, before eventually it's recovered by its owners.

"We just followed the sound down there, we could see them hanging out in a tree – they'd obviously heard us coming and abandoned the GoPro – and my son decided to go check the rocks where it looked like a good place for a bird to land, and there it was still sitting there, still filming," camera owner Alex Verheul told 1news.

While we don't imagine the GoPro is in the best shape at this point, it's impressive that the footage remains unaffected throughout the attack. Watch out the video above. If you're not sure you want a GoPro, check out our guide to the best action cameras, or the best cheap action cameras, for some alternatives.

Ruth is a lifestyle journalist specialising in sleep and wellbeing. She has tested more mattresses than her small flat can handle and will talk at length about them to anyone who shows even a passing interest, and has had to implement a one-in-one-out pillow policy for fear of getting smothered in the night. As well as following all the industry trends and advancements in the mattress and bedding world, she regularly speaks to certified experts to delve into the science behind a great night's sleep, and offer you advice to help you get there. She's currently Sleep Editor on Tom's Guide and TechRadar, and prior to that ran the Outdoors and Wellness channels on T3 (now covered by Matt Kollat and Beth Girdler-Maslen respectively).