Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also called bird flu, is a contagious viral disease that causes serious illness in both domestic and wild birds. In 2020, a new H5N1 strain of the HPAI virus emerged in the northern hemisphere. This H5N1 strain differs significantly from other HPAI strains because it spreads more easily and has caused extensive deaths in bird and marine mammal populations. HPAI is transmitted between colony birds through secretions and faeces, and to predator/scavenger species such as raptors and marine mammals through exposure and consumption.
The H5N1 strain has now made landfall in Aotearoa/New Zealand. If it spreads in the wild bird population here, it won’t be possible to eradicate it and management options will be limited.
New Zealand is a land of birds, many of which are found nowhere else in the world (are endemic). Kea are a large endemic parrot which are taonga and are already listed as Nationally Endangered because of multiple threats to their survival such as introduced mammalian predators, lead poisoning and other effects from human activities. The HPAI virus has now been confirmed in New Zealand and its potential impact on our vulnerable bird and marine mammal populations is of major concern.
The likelihood of kea becoming infected with HPAI is considered moderate, because although this species does not have contact with waterfowl, nest in colonies, or roost or feed communally, they do scavenge (and in the Kaikōura Ranges they have been known to visit seabird habitat and prey on Hutton’s shearwater/Kaikōura tītī chicks). The effects of exposure to HPAI would likely be limited to the level of individuals or small groups. However, kea are restricted to a number of small, declining sub-populations, and even a low mortality rate would be a considerable setback for the species recovery programme (e.g., by slowing population growth and increasing future costs). Overall risk of kea extinction from HPAI however is currently estimated to be low.
Bird flu is a notifiable animal disease so you must report if you have a reasonable suspicion that birds are infected.
Lead poisoning is a very serious issue for kea. Lead fixtures on old buildings in areas of the backcountry (e.g. huts, mines) and where kea and human habitats overlap have been identified as a source of lead exposure for kea. Kea of all age groups sampled in these areas have been found with significantly higher blood lead levels than those in remote areas.
Kea have been observed chewing these fixtures, and damage to lead-bearing buildings has been observed throughout the kea's range. Any level of lead exposure is considered unsafe, as lead can have subclinical effects that can compromise survival (e.g., depressed immune function, impaired development, decreased cognitive function etc.), as well as directly causing illness and/or death. Removal of lead from all buildings in the range of keas is therefore enormously important.
This is a huge job that will require cooperation between contractors, Department of Conservation and private land owners. There are options to involve volunteers through appropriate partnerships with organisations that have suitable H&S practices already in place.
You can find out more about this project here.
Introduced mammals such as mustelids (stoats and ferrets), possums and feral cats are key predators of kea and are present across the extent of the keas habitat. These predators impact on the survival of kea nestlings and the survival of adult females. Stoats can reduce nest survival to near zero in the stoat plague years that follow mast events. Episodes of high adult female mortality may also occur during stoat plagues.
Controlling predators through intensive pest control programmes is therefore vital for the keas future. Predator control methods include baiting (aerial or ground-based applications) and trapping but must be used with caution as kea have been negatively impacted by both control methods, particularly in areas where kea are used to being fed by people. Risk mitigation is necessary at these sites to minimise the incidence of unintentional by-kill through aerial control operations. Read the KCT's position statement on pest control here.
View the video of Department of Conservation workers monitoring kea nests in Westland (please note, some content may be disturbing).
Feeding wild kea interferes with their normal foraging activities and encourages them to hang around human areas for longer periods of time as they increasingly identify people with food. There are several negative consequences to this change in behaviour, i.e. conflict with local communities, ingestion of toxic items, car accidents and lead poisoning.
Any feeding of wild kea teaches them to seek out people for a food reward AND discourages them from foraging for food in the wild. Feeding wild kea does not help them but instead poses a serious threat to their survival.
