Kids are helping kea in all sorts of ways - making sure injured kea get medical help, reporting kea sightings, or telling others all about kea. Here are a few examples; … [Read more...]
Ground Based Baits and Traps
While pest control is generally beneficial to kea populations, non-target risk exists when devices do not adequately exclude kea.Kea have been recorded dead or injured from investigating Timms traps, DOC200 traps, Sentinel traps, Victor traps, … [Read more...]
Lead Poisoning
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 … [Read more...]
Introduced mammalian predators
Introduced stoats and possums are the 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 … [Read more...]
Current conflict
The two main reasons for on-going human-kea conflict are:Kea strike on high country sheep and; Property damageThe Kea Conservation Trust is working with DOC and communities to try and resolve these issues by designing programmes which aim … [Read more...]
Captive breeding
Many of the kea currently held in captive institutions are genetically important and may potentially be used in future breeding programmes.At present there is limited and highly selective breeding of kea as directed by the Species Coordinator. … [Read more...]
Kea as a ‘high priority species’
High priority species are those which have complex environmental demands in the wild. These demands can impact on survival and as such, the ability of the individual to make complex cognitive decisions is crucial for survival. Generalist species … [Read more...]
Captive kea as insurance population
Reputable zoos globally, work cooperatively under regional umbrella organisations to hold self-sustaining ex-situ populations of threatened species.These populations are sometimes viewed and managed as insurance populations; preserving important … [Read more...]
Captive kea for research
The captive population provides a unique opportunity for researchers to conduct behavioural observations and tests to better manage kea and kea threats in the wild.All research projects must go through an extensive ethic approvals process, … [Read more...]
Captive kea for advocacy
Captive kea provide an opportunity for people to learn about, understand and empathise with their wild counterparts. Kea in the wild are often considered a nuisance and as such are still persecuted because of their propensity to investigating and … [Read more...]