2009 News

Cheeky kea steals tourist's passport

By MARK HOTTON, Southland Times

Last updated 05:00 29/05/2009

Te Anau police have identified a thief who brazenly stole a British man's passport, but will not pursue an arrest or attempt to recover the document. A police spokeswoman said a Scottish man reported the theft of his passport from a bus heading into Milford Sound earlier this week.The passport had been in a coloured courier bag that attracted the attention of a cheeky kea when the bus stopped at the Chasm on the Milford road.While the driver was in a compartment beneath the bus, the kea grabbed the package. When the driver turned back, the startled kea flew off into the bush with the package. It has not been recovered and considering the size of Fiordland, is unlikely to be.The Scottish man, who did not want to be identified, said he had been waiting for about a month for the passport to be returned from Wellington."Being Scottish, I've got a sense of humour so I did take it with humour but obviously there is one side of me still raging," he said."My passport is somewhere out there in Fiordland. The kea's probably using it for fraudulent claims or something. I'll never look at a kea in the same way."A replacement from the British High Commission in Wellington could take as long as six weeks and cost up to $400."I was planning to go home to Scotland in August so I'm hoping to get that sorted pretty quickly."He said the bus driver did not know what was in the package but his "pale expression" convinced him he wasn't joking that it contained a passport.The Scotsman did not hold the driver or the company responsible. "They do us a great service by bringing stuff in and it was just one of those unfortunate things. It just happens."You can't make that sort of stuff up."

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Endangered keas are fun birds

The Whangarei Report

Gerry Brackenbury

I am currently reading a book called Beak of the Moon by Philip Temple, a writer and mountaineer. It  telss of the trials and tribulations of the Worlds only mountain parrot the kea. Being parrots, kea are highly intelligent animals and have a strong social hierarchy. They are long lived and biegn bright they know how to have fun.

Unfortunately, these positive attributes have been the kea's undoing.

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Help needed in kea count

By Felicity Wolfe

7 May 2009 The Regions: Otago

Otago residents are being asked to help count keas, the world's most intelligent - and possibly cheeky - bird, this winter. Keas are also classified as endangered, and to get a better idea of how many there are, the Kea Conservation Trust is calling on people from around the South to take part in its annual winter kea count. Known for its ability to strip a car of shiny trimmings, and ransack tramping boots of laces within minutes, the egregious kea is unique to the South Island. The trust's chairwoman, Tamsin Orr-Walker, said the birds were quite high on the New Zealand endangered species list, but they were seen as a low priority. Often spotted hanging around Wakatipu's skifields, the mountain-dwelling parrots are not found in the North Island and are an important attraction to visitors as they interact closely with humans. Whether this is a beneficial relationship is not known - there is evidence there are as few as 1000 to 5000 keas left in the wild. Though considered guardians of the mountains by Maori, early European settlers found the birds to be a stock-worrying pest. There was even a bounty paid out by government for their beaks until 1971. Ms Orr-Walker said as many as 150,000 of the birds were killed during that time and it was still unknown how the numbers had regenerated. "They have mostly been left to themselves," she said. The trust has been organising biannual counts of kea populations for the last two years - last winter more than 70 people registered across the South Island. However, most of those were from around Nelson and Canterbury. Very little information has been logged on the Wakatipu and Central Otago kea populations yet. Ms Orr-Walker said the winter counts were "a fun thing to do - kea move down from higher places as food runs out; and they are also in their nesting phase". Most keas people saw were either juveniles or adult males in lower areas such as in Arthurs Pass and around skifields where they knew there was a steady supply of food. Last winter, the Arrowtown Scouts combined a winter camping badge exercise with a kea count in Mt Aspiring National Park. They saw about five keas over a weekend - fewer than the previous year. Mrs Orr-Walker hoped people would come to better understand the habits of the birds. For forms and information about participating in the Kea Conservation Trust winter count, visit www.keaconservation.co.nz.

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Curiosity kills the kea, study shows

The Dominion Post

Last updated 12:59 22/04/2009

HEAVY METAL: Science student Clio Reid found kea were sometimes getting a lethal dose of lead when nibbling at buildings or sneaking into wheelie bins.

A science student is calling for lead nails to be removed from old buildings in alpine area, after she found they pose a threat to curious kea.

Clio Reid found kea were sometimes getting a lethal dose of lead when nibbling at buildings or sneaking into wheelie bins.

"Many kea live near human- populated areas so they are at risk from all sorts of hazards when they go exploring, the main one being lead poisoning. Young kea are like little kids - they'll get into anything. Exposure to lead paint or nails in old buildings can kill them."

Ms Reid, a masters of science student at Victoria University, has just completed a study on kea in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park that focused on the relationship between the personality traits of kea and the level of lead in their bloodstream.

"Once lead is in their bloodstream, it can do a lot of internal damage and even kill them.

Ms Reid found that although kea with curious personalities are more likely to have high levels of lead in their blood, the less explorative ones are at risk too.

"You'll often find that a really explorative kea will take the first step and check out new objects like lead head nails, and then the others will follow. Replacing lead nails in old buildings, refraining from feeding kea, and securing objects like wheelie bins will help keep them healthy and safe."

To explore the personalities of kea, Ms Reid presented different wild birds with a bright fluffy toy and watched their reaction.

Originally from Canada, Ms Reid has been fascinated by kea since her first encounter with one.

"They are always doing things that you don't expect, they are hilarious. They do somersaults, play tug-of-war and do all these crazy things.

"They are a unique species and most people know them for their clownish behaviour."

Retrieved on 22nd April from

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/2354964/Curiosity-kills-the-kea-study-shows

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Plea to give kea a chance

By MELISSA MCDONNELL - The Press

Last updated 05:00 20/03/2009

Drivers are being warned to watch out for kea on South Island alpine roads after several of the endangered birds were killed in Arthur's Pass.

Freelance photographer Andrew Walmsley this week saw a large truck run over two kea as they fed on the state highway near Arthur's Pass.

He said the truck was travelling at a normal speed and did not attempt to stop.

"The birds were in the middle of the road and the driver made no attempt to slow down. He didn't even touch the brakes, but just ram-roaded straight through.

"It was so shocking to see."

Another kea had been killed on the road in the past two weeks, and there had been several near-misses recently, the Kea Conservation Trust reported.

It wants signs warning drivers about kea placed in townships along the trans-alpine route.

The endangered alpine parrot is unique to the South Island, where 1000 to 5000 live in the wild.

The trust believed the number of kea had substantially reduced after about 150,000 birds were culled in the 1970s.

Trust chairwoman Tamsin Orr-Walker said the recent deaths were distressing, considering the low kea population and the environmental pressures on the bird.

"The unknown number of kea being killed by lead poisoning, 1080 poisoning, road incidents and accumulative human interaction could be having a larger impact than we know."

Orr-Walker said there was a public perception that kea were pests, despite the 1986 wildlife order "to absolutely protect the kea throughout New Zealand".

Orr-Walker hoped to raise awareness for drivers entering the kea habitat. She acknowledged "a driver's own safety is always the first priority, but on these often quiet, rural roads there is no reason why a vehicle can't beep its horn and give the birds a chance to fly to safety".

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Kea numbers may be in decline

Updated at 1:29pm on 22 February 2009

The Kea Conservation Trust says the birds may be declining in number.

Keas were counted at 90 sites in Nelson Lakes National Park, Arthur's Pass and the Borland Range in Fiordland last month.

Compared to data collected by DoC in the 1990s, trust chair Tamsin Orr-Walker says there seems to be a major decline in their numbers and the birds may be under much more serious threat than first thought.

Threats include predators such as possums, and lead and 1080 poison.

Copyright © 2009 Radio New Zealand

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Possums take toll on kea at Nelson Lakes

By SIMON BLOOMBERG - Nelson | Saturday, 21 February 2009

The kea population in Nelson Lakes National Park appears to be under serious threat from possum predation, with the latest surveys suggesting that numbers of the alpine parrot have declined significantly in the past 10 years.

Last month, 50 researchers and volunteers from the Kea Conservation Trust and the Department of Conservation surveyed kea numbers at 90 sites in Nelson Lakes National Park, Arthur's Pass in Canterbury and the Borland Range in Fiordland.

Although the three-year study is being conducted mainly to compare populations between the three locations, kea numbers at Nelson Lakes appear to be much lower than those recorded in an earlier survey.

DOC researchers Josh Kemp and Graeme Elliott found that there had been a high level of kea nesting success at Nelson Lakes from 1993 to 1999. They identified 36 nesting sites, and also found that predation of the birds was low during the study period.

In contrast, only 12 kea were caught and banded at Nelson Lakes during last month's survey.

The researchers said it was also a concern that only three fledglings were seen during the 10-day observation period.

Mr Kemp said the main reason for the apparent decline in numbers was predation of kea eggs and chicks.

Possums were thought to be the main predator, because they lived in the same types of holes and crevices kea used for nesting, although stoats and rats also preyed on the parrots.

"There were possums in the vicinity of all the nest sites we surveyed this summer, and we saw possum sign and dead possums in some of the kea nests.

"The requirements for possums and kea nest sites are very similar, so we think the possums go in there to live and find the eggs and eat them -- they aren't actively seeking out the eggs."

The decline in kea numbers was consistent with an increase in the number of possums at Nelson Lakes, although more surveys were needed to reach a definitive conclusion, he said.

Tamsin Orr-Walker, of the Kea Conservation Trust, said lead poisoning of kea ingesting nailheads and flashings on buildings might also be a problem closer to settlements.

Although kea in other areas had been inadvertently poisoned by 1080 baits laid for pests, this wasn't a problem at Nelson Lakes, where 1080 poisoning in areas inhabited by kea was minimal, she said.

She said researchers were hoping to gain an insight into the reasons for the decline after fitting a satellite transmitter to a one-year-old kea and a fledgling at Nelson Lakes. Two adult females were also fitted with VHF transmitters to enable their progress during the next breeding season to be tracked.

She said researchers were also trying to develop a bird repellent for 1080 baits.

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1080 solution to avert kea deaths

By HELEN MURDOCH - The Press

Last updated 23:08 28/01/2009

DAVID HALLETT

ENDANGERED NATIVE: Bird repellant may be added to 1080 pest bait to prevent kea deaths.

Bird repellant may be included in 1080 pest bait this year to prevent more deaths of the endangered kea.

Seven monitored kea died after an aerial 1080 drop in the Franz Josef area on the West Coast last year during a preliminary Department of Conservation (DOC) study on the impact of 1080 on kea.

The deaths jolted DOC, the Animal Health Board and the Kea Conservation Trust into committing to the annual $250,000 study.

DOC Nelson science officer Josh Kemp said the study used radio-tagging and kea counts to monitor populations at various pest-control sites.

Bird numbers illustrated the impact of combinations of pest-control methods used at the sites, including aerial 1080 drops and trapping, he said.

Applications have been lodged with the Environmental Risk Management Authority to run the trials and have repellants included in the bait.

The two repellants registered in New Zealand would be trialled next spring.

"The hard part will be putting kea off taking the baits without putting off rats and possums," Kemp said.

If the registered repellants were ineffective, research for alternatives could take five to 10 years, he said.

Kemp said he had been worried about the impact of aerial 1080 operations on kea since the 1990s.

The Franz Josef kea deaths had "shocked and stunned" DOC, he said. Kea were susceptible to trapping and poisoning because they were inquisitive, intelligent, not scared of new food and a similar size and weight to possums, he said.

One thousand to 5000 of the ground-nesting alpine parrots range across three million hectares of the South Island. One million hectares is rotationally treated with 1080.

"If kea populations are on the slippery downhill slope, we need to assess the role of 1080, the need for a bird repellant and if a repellant works," Kemp said.

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The Kea Parrot: New Zealand's Distinct Bird

By Angela Pham

Jan 2009

"Famed for its olive-green plumage, scarlet underwings, keen intelligence and its rare attempts to feed on both dead and live sheep, the unique kea parrot of New Zealand draws attention from bird lovers and conservationists throughout the world"

"Inarguably, humans play a significant role in the population numbers of kea birds. [Josh] Kemp said that lead poisoning, car accidents, entrapment in garbage bins, angry farmers, critter traps and pet poisons have all contributed to kea deaths in past years. However, introduced predators like the stoat, a ferret-like animal, also threaten ground-breeding birds like the kea, [Gyula] Gajdon said.

Thankfully, conservation and research efforts have been extended recently to help ensure that kea parrots are thoroughly studied and can thrive safely in their forested environments."

"In collaboration with the Kea Conservation Trust and the Animal Health Board, we [DoC] will be radio-tracking four lots of 20 to 30 kea parrots through four aerial 1080 operations next winter," Kemp said. "Then, at two of the sites, we will be monitoring nesting success after the aerial 1080 and comparing it with nesting success in adjacent areas where pets are not controlled."

Kemp recommends visiting the KCT website for more details on the upcoming projects."

For the full article visit www.birdchannel.com or follow the following link to the article:

http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-magazines/bird-talk/2009-january/kea-parrots.aspx

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2008 News

TV 3 October 2008 – Wellington Zoo fundraising for new animal hospital

Farmers warned: Don't shoot killer parrots

4:00AM Friday Sep 26, 2008
By Jarrod Booker

High country farmers are being urged not to break the law to stop a protected bird preying on their livestock.

The kea, known for its intelligence and inquisitive nature, is turning to live sheep for food, which can result in a slow and miserable death for the sheep.

Until 1986, farmers could protect stock by shooting a rogue kea, but the birds are now an endangered and protected species, so such an act could result in prosecution.

Federated Farmers high country spokesman Donald Aubrey said kea attacks were a long known hazard for high-country farmers.

"They target the area around a sheep's kidneys," Mr Aubrey said. "They do that by riding on the back of the sheep and pecking around the spinal region.

"From my observation, the number of incidents involving kea has reduced. Unfortunately where there is an isolated outbreak, it can at times be quite severe."

Ross Ivey, who farms the 20,000ha Glentanner Station near Mt Cook National Park, accepts the occasional loss of livestock to kea is "something we have to live with".

A few days ago one of his sheep died of blood poisoning after a kea pecked through its skin and ate a kidney.

"A lot of people think the problem with keas finished years ago and that's not the case."

Department of Conservation spokesman Andrew Grant said the kea was an opportunist, doing what it had to to survive in the harsh high country.

Measures had to be taken to protect stock without hastening the kea's decline. For farmers brought up on shooting problem keas, it was a "learning process".

Mr Grant said DoC was prepared to work with farmers to deal with rogue birds.

This could mean capturing and relocating them. But Mr Ivey said tracking the birds spread over a station the size of his was a long shot, and even then there was a good chance they would find their way back.

Mr Aubrey said the present situation where farmers negotiated with DoC over rogue kea seemed to be adequate.

"But if we get into a situation that the farmer is suffering losses ... we would need to revisit it."

Hamilton Zoo has welcomed its first kea chick in 15 years. 

Friday, 26 September 2008 Press Release: Hamilton Zoo

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0809/S00080.htm 

"The unnamed chick, whose sex is not yet known, was hatched on 15 September to first-time parents, Tane (15) and Kowhai (9). The chick will take up to 13 weeks to leave the nest so won’t be visible to the public until around mid-December.

There hasn’t been breeding of kea at Hamilton Zoo for many years due to restrictions on the number of the birds able to be bred in captivity. Hamilton Zoo Director Stephen Standley said the facility was thrilled when they were given the green light for their kea pair to breed.

“We are very excited when the recommendation to breed came through, and especially when our birds were quick to respond and produced a healthy chick,” he said.

Kea pairs bond for life and are thought to be the world’s smartest bird. They are the world’s only alpine parrot, with less than 5000 currently remaining in the wild in the New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Reports that keas were attacking sheep and feeding on their carcasses meant they were once hunted extensively, however the species became fully protected in 1986".

In Good Company 

by M. PICKERING - Christchurch Press, 30th August 2008

"The cry was strident, cackling, haunting and unmistakable. A kea, James K. Baxtors "carrion parrot" landed on a beech stump nearby and squawked repeatedly. It followed me up the Sudden Valley flapping from tree to tree. I was happy to have some company"

"Based purely on my own observations over the past few years I would say kea are getting rare. I haven't seen a largish flock of kea for many years. More frequently it is a lone raucous bird. along with blue ducks and the rapidly disapearing rock wrens, I suspect kea are under severe stress. This is a shame, for the mountains would simply not be the same without them. Most back-country people have kea stories, but many date back to the 1970's and 1980's when kea were common place."

" I saw the Press item in July that the 1080 poison had been found in dead kea, and that was a concern. I'm not a big fan of aerial poisoning by 1080, but how else can you control predators like rats, possums, and stoats?"

" Just seeing that kea in the Sudden Valley cheered me, but also saddened me. Where are all its Mates?"

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DOC reviews 1080 use after endangered kea die

 

Seven kea have died at Fox Glacier after eating 1080 poison, wiping out almost half a group of the endangered and protected parrot being monitored by the Conservation Department.

DOC is reviewing its use of the poison after the deaths were revealed in a draft internal report, obtained by The Dominion Post. The report says "aerial 1080 may well be a significant threat to the kea population" with some drops "probably devastating".

DOC fitted radio transmitters to 29 West Coast kea - 10 in Arawhata Valley, two in the Hohonu Range, and 17 near Fox Glacier - to see if they survived 1080 drops. All birds in the first two areas survived, but seven near the glacier died.

Testing confirmed 1080 poisoning. The report says birds living near Fox Glacier were more used to taking food from humans, which may have made them more likely to take 1080 bait.

The report recommends that DOC review its use of 1080, consider cutting the amount of toxin in the bait where kea live and reassess the use of "pre-feeding", putting harmless baits out before 1080 drops.

It says some 1080 drops were probably devastating to kea populations, but others had minimal impacts or even benefited them.

DOC senior adviser Herb Christophers said the report was a draft only and more work had to be done before the effects of 1080 on kea were established.

Though DOC would review its 1080 activities near kea habitats, drops in the North Island would continue. The poison is used to control possums, rats and stoats.

Anti-1080 campaigner Mike Bennett said the kea deaths were the tip of the iceberg.

"These are only the monitored ones. If that percentage is extrapolated for the entire population, that doesn't leave many for the next drop."

He called for a ban on all aerial 1080 drops in alpine areas.

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Anger over kea deaths

http://tvnz.co.nz/search/?q=kea+conservation&submit=Search

7:47PM Wednesday July 30, 2008

The deaths of endangered kea have prompted fresh calls for an end to controversial 1080 drops on the West Coast.

Seven kea died after eating poisonous bait that was dropped in the Fox Glacier region several months ago.

National's spokesman for the Environment, Nick Smith, says they need to call a halt to alpine drops of 1080 because "kea are iconic species for New Zealand...we can't have the Department involved in killing and poisoning these birds."

While the Animal Health Board organised the operation, it works in conjunction with the Department of Conservation and on this particular drop, the department was monitoring the effects of 1080 on kea. 

Nicola Vallance from DoC said obviously they are disappointed with the situation but "what is more frightening is to learn that 40% of kea nests are being wiped out by predators including possums...so we can't afford to do nothing."

The department is adamant that possum numbers have to be brought under control because they spread tuberculosis and decimate bird numbers by eating chicks and eggs.

DoC is now looking at why kea were not affected by two previous drops in more remote areas and Vallance says it may be that the birds in Fox Galcier are tamer, more used to people, scavenging and dealing with human based food.

Those against 1080 say the aerial drops should be stopped altogether and trappers should use bird-proof bait stations on the ground.   

"The keas at the moment are on the endangered list...if they keep going like this, they'll end up being extinct" said 1080 protestor Daniel Lane from Harihari.

United Future leader Peter Dunne is also demanding DoC be held to account over the deaths calling them 'indigenous avian genocide' and part of the department's irresponsible use of the poison.

"Recently aerial 1080 operations have been responsible for the death of domestic horses in the central North Island, earmarked for use across public water supply catchment areas, and now have successfully dealt a blow to the precarious kea population."

Dunne says the New Zealand public fund DoC to manage conservation and recreational resources on their behalf.

"Grudgingly we have also accepted the use of aerial 1080 as a means by which to fight the prevalence of possums, stoats and rats. However our tolerance is at an end."

Dunne said United Future remains opposed to the aerial application of 1080 and would like to see a safety-first approach using ground application and bait stations.

There are no plans to delay upcoming 1080 drops on the West Coast but one operation in the Nelson area has been delayed until next year.

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New Speights Advertisment

Good on You Mate!

The Kea Conservation Trust was contacted last month to help find appropriate captive kea contacts for the new Speights advertisment now showing on TV.

The chosen star of the advert, Nauhea, from Auckland Zoo, was originally trained in 2003 by Tamsin Orr-Walker of the Kea Conservation Trust. The training programme was initially set up by Tamsin, with support from (then) Senior Keeper Todd Jenkinson, to increase the captive managment standards at the zoo and to provide mental and physical stimulation for all the kea. 

Birds were always positively reinforced with favorite food treats and could choose to be included in the daily training session or not - choice being an important part of the training opportunity.

(Food deprivation techniques are considered unethical and should never be used as an incentive in captive training regimes).

Michelle Whybrow on the Native Fauna Section, took over training when Tamsin left the Zoo and another zoo staff member is also being trained to carry on the training when Michelle is away. This is very important as it ensures that the kea will always have someone to carry on the work that they so enjoy and ensures that they continue to receive vital stimulation. In addition, building positive associations with other keepers builds confidence and trust and increases choices for the kea in an otherwise predictable environment.

Speights should be commended on the strong environmental message that is conveyed throughout the advertisement. Its also excellent to see kea portrayed in a positive light for a change!

Good on you Speights!

To view the advertisment, follow the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxtQbxMBj4c

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Count of kea as fears grow over health

June 5th 2008

Fears for the health of the kea population in New Zealand have prompted conservationists to carry out a count of the birds this winter.

The Kea Conservation Trust plan to a carry out a survey of the playful alpine parrot in July to get an idea of its numbers.

Chairwoman of the trust Tamsin Orr-Walker said lead used in buildings, habitat pressures, the use of the pesticide 1080 and competition from introduced predators could all have an affect on population.

"They are nationally endangered but not all birds get a priority status and there's no management for kea," she said.

Orr-Walker said there were an estimated 1000 to 5000 birds living in the wild based on a survey 30 years ago.

"If we are down to 1000 to 5000 we could have really serious problems because you have got huge pressures on the birds. Potentially they could be in a really bad way," she said.

The trust is looking for volunteers to do counts in the Southern Alps this winter.

Department of Conservation (DOC) biodiversity programme manager for the Waimakariri Area, Mike Ambrose, said the count would be useful.

"Like a lot of native species there's a lot which is unknown about them," he said. "They are quite possibly in decline but not in a bad enough way that they have priority placed on them like other birds do."

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Police Hunt underway after kea found stapled to road sign

NZ Herald 25th January 2008

Police are hunting sadists after two kea were found stapled to a road sign in Arthur's Pass. Department of Conservation communication relations officer Sarah Mankelow said members of the public spotted the dead birds about 10km outside Arthurs Pass national Park two days ago. "It seems like a pretty horrific thing to do. Kea are a protected species, it's hard for me to understand what would motivate someone to do that," she said.

The rare birds are protected under the Wildlife Act. Harming kea carries a maximum penalty of $100,000 or six months in prison.

Cause of Death - Results of the Autopsy Report

The two kea were sent to Massey University for a post mortem examination to determine cause of death. It was found that both birds were shot and killed by a high calibre rifle at close range.

The police have the results of the autopsy and are investigating. If the culprit/s are found they will face a maximum penalty of $100,000 or six months in prison.

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Kea stapled to road sign in Arthur's Pass

NewsTalk ZB

24th January 2008

Two juvenile Kea have been found stapled to a road sign near Arthur's Pass National Park.

Department Of Conservation ranger Wayne Costello says he is unsure how the native parrots died. They are being sent to Massey University for an autopsy to determine the cause.

Mr Costello finds it unbelievable that someone would think this behaviour is acceptable. He says Kea are the real attraction in Arthur's Pass and are the most photographed bird in the country.

The culprit could face a charge under the Wildlife Act which carries a maximum fine of $100,000 or a six month jail sentence.

Police and DOC staff are investigating.

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2007 News

Death by Chocolate

New Scientist

22/29December 2007

"It was a sorry end. Cut down in his prime, the cunning thief lay on the slab, his cold body offering patholgist Brett Gartrell no outward sign of how he had met his maker. Once Bartrell had wielded his scalpel, however, the cause became clear: a belly stuffed with sticky brown gunk. Diagnosis? Death by chocolate.

Divine - yes. Delicious- absolutely. But deadly? For some it certainly is. The corpse on Gartrell's slab belonged not to a human but to a kea, an endangered New Zealand parrot.

Like many animals, keas are acutely sensitive to chemicals in chocolate that are harmless to humans in all but huge doses... Cocoa beans are naturally rich in caffeine and its chemical relatives theobromine and theophylline, collectively called methylxanthines. Just 240gms of unsweetened dark chocolate contains enought methylxanthines to kill a 40kg dog, about the size of a German Shepherd. It was methylxantihines that did for the kea too ... It had eaten more than 20grams of dark chocolate, presumably pilfered from the kitchen garbage". Claire Ainsworth

The full story is available from New Scientist (refer to Page 40, No. 2635/6).

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NHK Japan Broadcasting

November 2007

It appears that the Janpanese have taken kea into their hearts with great interest in their antics and intelligence being generated back in Japan.

NHK broadcasting of Japan, filmed kea in the Mt Cook area last year and returned this November to film more footage of kea in Arthurs Pass. This will be broadcast on Japan TV early next year. The Kea Conservation Trust was invited by NHK to meet up in Christchurch to discuss the outcomes of a simple experiment, conducted with a small group of wild kea, on colour preference in the species based on Rachael Johnstone's research on kea.

Typical of kea, they did not behave as expected by the film crew and, although very curious of the colourful cubes they had been conveniently provided with, they did not show any evidence of preference for yellow in this one off experiment. However, true to form, these wild birds displayed their usual fascination and complete lack of fear of novel objects and spent an apparantly enjoyable half hour pulling and rolling the cubes around between them!

Great entertainment for man and beast alike!

Tamsin (KCT) with the NHK team

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Keas' taste for lead endangers wild population

October 2007.

Massey University Research P.21

"Of 15 dead wild keas found in the Mt Cook area over a 10 year period, nine at post mortem were found to have tissue levels of lead considered to be compatible with death due to lead toxicity. Samples taken from live wild keas showed a similar story: 26 of the 28 birds sampled had blood lead in excess of 0.1mg/l abd 12 were in the range accepted to cause severe toxicity"

Unfortunately, as stated in this article, lead is widely used in alpine buildings and equipment throughout the South Island and is highly palatable to many species, including kea. Its sweetness and malleability is extremely attractive to wild kea (particularly juveniles) and apart from causing death in acute poisoning cases can also irreparably affect cognitive development in chronic cases.

Kea rely on their intelligence and learning ability to actively process information from their environment and any damage to this ability could be disasterous in the harsh environmental conditions of the Southern Alps.

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New Zealand Veterinary Journal Issue

Summaries                  

June 2007 - Vol 55(3)

http://www.sciquest.org.nz/default.asp?pageid=67

For those interested in wildlife and conservation biology, Brett Gartrell and colleagues from Massey, NCDI Wallaceville and Victoria University report the absence of intestinal carriage of Salmonella spp by wild tuatara on Stephens Island, which may indicate either lack of exposure, or an innate resistance to intestinal colonisation in these reptiles.

In a second paper, Brett Gartrell and Clio Reid report on a case of “death by chocolate” in a Kea. The bird in question was well known at Mt Cook National Park and features on the cover of this issue of the Journal! The Kea is now classified as a rare endemic species in NZ, with as few as 1,000–5,000 birds thought to survive. The pathophysiology of chocolate toxicity is well studied in mammals and humans and is due to the effects of its methylxanthine components, in particular caffeine, theophylline and theobromine.

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 2006 News

 Kea moving to greener pastures  

By BECK ELEVEN - The Press | Monday, 18 September 2006

Kea, the South Island's native parrot, appears to be disappearing from the skifields where it was once a familiar sight, but an expert says it is not cause for concern.

Josh Kemp, a scientific officer with the Department of Conservation's research development division, said anecdotal evidence from a network of volunteer kea counters suggested wild populations were healthy.

He said the decreasing number of kea on popular skifields could be the result of the "don't feed the kea" campaign.

"If juveniles don't learn they can be fed, then there's less incentive to hang around. They'll head to better country," Kemp said.

He had reports from one bird spotter in Arthurs Pass of a group of 30 kea, which he said was the biggest cluster he had heard of. "And that's a pretty good indication that they're OK."

A nine-year study of kea populations in the Nelson area was undertaken during the 1990s and it showed a healthy number of kea and a good balance between births and deaths.

It showed 59 per cent of kea born made it out from the nest – an excellent ratio compared to other New Zealand ground-nesting birds. Just 5% of kaka survive the nesting period.

"It is almost impossible to census kea. Unless you're very wealthy, these studies take a lot of resources. This network of volunteers sending us emails is a bit of a cheap and nasty way, but there's a bigger chance of it carrying on for a long time," Kemp said.

Based on the results of the earlier study and anecdotal evidence, he was confident the population was thriving.

"They are omnivorous and opportunistic birds who are really intelligent and check what's around before deciding on a whim whether they will come near or not. They're extremely distinctive, and we're very lucky to have them."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3799982a7693,00.html

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2004 News

Predators found asleep in kea nests

From: The Press | Date: July 26, 2004| Author: SCOTT, Leanne | Copyright 2004 The Press.

Kea numbers are likely to decrease owing to stoats and possums, according to Department of Conservation (DOC) research.

DOC estimates between 1000 and 5000 kea live in mountainous country in the South Island. DOC scientist Graeme Elliott said possums were still making inroads into popular kea habitat like Milford Sound and other areas within the Fiordland National Park.

"In places where possums haven't reached their key density, kea numbers could decrease," he said.

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2001 News

Who's a clever kea then?

The kea outscores gibbons in intelligence tests. "There was definitely learning going on," says Rachel Johnston who administered the avian IQ tests.
(18 May 2001)

 http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_298203.html

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