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Kea - Captivity IssuesKea as a High Priority SpeciesKea in the wild have evolved to take advantage of their extreme environment and their curiosity and the need to explore novel items within their environment is an integral part of kea behaviour. Kea have complex environmental demands make them a high priority species.
Species considered high priority are those which have complex environmental demands in their wild state. These demands potentially impact on survival probability and, as such, the ability of the individual to make complex cognitive decisions is crucial for survival (Mench, 1998). High priority species held in captivity have a greater requirement for enrichment as they are considered more likely to develop atypical behaviours such as stereotyping (Kreger et al, 1998). Kea Captive BehavioursCreating an environment which allows expression of natural behaviours is one of the main challenges captive facilities all over the world face. This is important for the mental and physical health of the animal and is particularly important if release programmes are in place. These challenges are amplified when holding high priority species. Captive facilities and Zoos around New Zealand are becoming increasingly aware of the need to provide complex and highly variable environments for their kea. Kea have evolved to take advantage of their extreme environment and as such curiosity and the need to explore novel items within their environment is an integral part of kea behaviour. Kea which are unable to fulfill this and other basic needs such as ability for flight, social interaction and foraging may begin to show signs of unnatural behaviours such as stereotypies.
Stereotypic behaviours are unvarying repetitive behaviours performed with seemingly no obvious goal or function. They are only ever performed by captive animals that are unable to express natural behaviour patterns correctly. As such stereotypic performance is considered to indicate a deficit in the animal’s environment.
Studies on repetitive behaviours in captive kea within New Zealand (Orr-Walker et al, 2005) have shown high levels of this behaviour in the captive kea population (77.8%) signifying potential welfare problems. Facilities are aware of these problems and are working towards increasing performance of natural behaviours through enrichment of the captive environment.
Additional research is now necessary to ascertain what constitutes best management practice for kea in captivity to ensure optimum psychological and physical health.
Injured Kea at NaturelandDoC Review of Injured Kea at Natureland, Nelson
The kea was taken to Natureland, Nelson to be looked after by Gail Sutton whilst the extent of its injuries was being ascertained. Due to the injury type it was decided by Department of Conservation (DoC) that this kea would be unable to be released back into the wild. DoC policy, in this situation, requires the kea to be euthanased.
The Kea Conservation Trust raised concerns over this decision given the understanding of the Kea Captive Management Plan as it is commonly understood by holders.
It was also suggested that this kea would be a valuable addition to the captive gene pool and as such should be retained within the captive kea population. As a result of further positive discussions with DoC staff, Peter Gaze and Bruce McKinley, the kea, a male named ‘Rotorua’, now has a future within the captive population.
The species coordinator, Tony Pullar, has now secured Rotorua in his new home at the Dunedin Botanical Gardens.
Most importantly however, this situation has also raised several important issues regarding:
The Trust will look to address these issues in the future and will update this web page on any future developments. Additional Information on KeaFor additional information on stereotypies and enrichment please visit our research/ literature page for a list of publications.
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On the 13th of September 2006 a young, hungry kea with a fractured wing was picked up in Murchison after found breaking and entering into a house (through the cat door) and pinching the resident cat’s dinner.