references
it: they’d have intensive sessions investigating and, at times, playing with the novel objects. They also appeared to be highly motivated by even just half a peanut in the shell – some of them would spend a lot of time and effort trying to figure out how to get it out of the puzzle box. The kea that were presented with the puzzle box were good at discovering how to use the string, and most of them were savvy with the window too. The marble and the stick methods, however, really seemed to stump them, or at least didn’t appear to interest them except as playthings. None of the kea tried to use the stick as a tool, although I think that given long enough at least one of them would have figured it out. What really threw me for a loop was, just days before I had to head out of the field and start analysing all the data I’d collected, one of the regular kea figured out how to use
the marble. I thought they would eventually figure it out, but as it got closer to the time for me to leave, I thought I wouldn’t get to see them do it. This kea (named Wadda), really surprised me – and I think himself – when he worked it out. Captive kea have been able to figure out all four solutions to the experiment, but wild kea generally seem to get bored or distracted and go off to do something else before they figure it out. Captive kea don’t necessarily have busy schedules, especially compared to their wild counterparts, so they can just focus on solving a problem. Ultimately, it’s my hope that the information from this research will shed some light on kea strike and help to mitigate it, and the persecution of kea along with it. Maybe Doctor Who monsters can be a force for good.
Support
This research has been made possible by funding from the JS Watson Trust (Forest & Bird), the Institute for Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences (Massey University), the Marion Cunningham Fund (New Zealand Veterinary Association Wildlife Society), and by in-kind support from the Department of Conservation (DOC). Research was carried out with DOC and iwi permissions, and with the approval of the Massey University Animal Ethics Committee.
References
Auersperg AM, von Bayern AM, Gajdon GK, Huber L, Kacelnik A 2011. ‘Flexibility in problem solving and tool use of kea and New Caledonian crows in a multi access box paradigm’. PLoS one 6(6): e20231. Marriner G 1908. The Kea: a New Zealand problem. Christchurch: Marriner Bros.
Figure 3. Kea investigating the mechanical sheep analogue. The cable for operating the analogue is visible at the bottom of the image. The mechanical sheep analogue consists of a wooden baseboard with springs supporting a moveable “body” made of wood and covered with a layer of carpet and a removable cover made of fun fur. The result puts me in mind of a monster from the earlier Doctor Who episodes. In the middle of the fleece cover was hidden a small hole with a pocket underneath for holding a small food reward (half a peanut in the shell). Photo: Clio Reid
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Photos: Denver Zoo