KEAS FOR KEEPS

Forest and Bird, Volume 17, Issue 1, 1 February 1986, Unnumbered Page

KEAS FOR KEEPS

by

Wildlife Service officer

Richard Anderson,

ne can only speculate on what keas did to amuse themselves before Europeans took up the land in the South Island. Today bootlaces, windscreen wipers, tents, precious food packs and vinyl ski-tow seats are just some of our modern trappings that these alpine parrots delight in demolishing. However, the mischievous tendencies of the kea are almost universally accepted, precisely because they are what endear these ‘clowns of the high country’ to people. Only in a small section of the farming community are the antics of the kea frowned upon, where some are accused of killing sheep. The stories approach legendary proportions, conjuring visions of countless sheep being herded over cliffs by bloodthirsty keas. Even today, after more than 150,000 keas have been killed by humans, some still insist that uncontrolled kea populations could affect the very livelihood of high country farming operations. Keas can injure sheep, which may lead to blood poisoning and subsequent death. But it is absurd to contend that a 50cm long bird can kill a sheep, or that it deliberately harrasses mobs over bluffs. Keas have been known to attack sheep immobilised by heavy snow or illness, and they will eat dead carcasses. Often, however, the reports are either untrue or exaggerated. It is easier to lay the blame at the kea’s door and to overlook other problems such as lice, flyblow, dermatitis, injury and old age. Inoculation against blood poisoning and improved sheep husbandry mean that _

damage or loss due to keas is now insignificant. Records show that keas were killed as soon as European farmers arrived in the South Island. Between 1860, by which time farming was well established, and 1970, when partial protection was granted, at least 150,000 keas were killed. This has been described as the worst case of avicide in New Zealand's history and one of the worst in the world. G R Marriner writes in his well known book ‘The Kea — A New Zealand Problem’ about the numbers of keas that were destroyed. Government involvement with the ‘problem’ began in 1890 with the introduction of the bountyscheme, which continued until 1971. In 1906 the bounty was worth 6d, this rising to 10 shillings by 1930 — a small fortune in those depression days. In 1935 the division of payment was: Government 3/-; County 2/-; runholder 5/-. Many people used to cross over from Canterbury, which had a bounty scheme, to the West Coast, where they did not have one, in order to hunt keas, and some farmers during the Depression either supplemented their income from schemes or relied on the bounty for income. The most accurate record we have of kas killed during! the

more of their food. Today keas are generally more common on the western side of the ranges than in the east where there are less extensive native forests. Recent data show that keas have been recorded in 480 10,000 yard grid squares — perhaps a quarter of the South Island. Given that each of the squares could support two birds each, with greater numbers depending on how much food is available in some areas, the population has been estimated at between 1,000 and 5,000 birds. The low figure would suggest that the kea is not endangered, but that it falls between the ‘not common’ and ‘stable’ categories. 3 The kea is a polygamous, omnivorous bird which breeds between July and January. Two to four eggs are laid in nests usually found among boulders in high altitude forest. The kea is related to the kaka, and like all parrots can flex both parts of its beak. It is thought that during the last great Ice Age the species evolved its own special characteristics when it learned to live in the alpine and sub-alpine conditions which then covered the South and most of the North Island. It had to be tough to survive and developed unusual powers of curiosity in its search for food in a barren environment. Today, keas are partially protected under the Wildlife Act 1953. This means that they are protected in national parks and reserves but may be killed outside of these areas if they cause damage. Over 100 people legally hold keas in captivity but only a few have successfully bred. A recent Wildlife Service census of permit holders has shown that a very small number of keas are being used as call birds although it can be expected that further investigations will reveal more birds which are being held for illegal purposes. Keas deserve a better deal than what they receive at present. They are a special and irreplaceable part of our natural heritage. The alpine world would be impoverished without them and the increasing public use of the high country today has created new threats to the kea’s continued existence. The kea should be granted total protection wherever it is and control methods should be allowed if and where it proves to be a problem. Ar