Lead's lethal lure for curious kea

A kea doing what kea do. However there's a fear the bird's natural curiosity for pulling things apart might be elevating poisonous lead levels in their blood.The curiosity of kea is putting the native parrot at risk of lead poisoning, according to new research.

Click to read more ...

Researchers study spread of parrot disease

DEVASTATING EFFECTS: A healthy red-fronted parakeet provides sharp contrast to a bird severely affected by the beak and feather virus.Researchers at Auckland Zoo are trying to understand a virus that is affecting native parrots and spreading through the country.

Beak and feather disease was found in kakariki parrots in 2008 and this year has turned up in the South Island for the first time.

The virus seemed to be confined to introduced parrots until it appeared four years ago in the Hauraki Gulf.

In January, it appeared in Fiordland in a second species of kakariki, which is also known as the New Zealand parakeet.

Click to read more ...

Kea Conservation Trust

Promotional Video made for the Kea Conservation Trust

Boys save one-legged kea, Jake

LOOKING PERKY: Jake the one-legged kea in his new enclosure at Natureland Zoo. Photo: COLIN SMITH/Fairfax NZJake the one-legged kea is settling into his new home at Natureland Zoo and he seems to be getting around just fine.

The two-year-old kea was rescued by cousins Jake and Christian Jenner when they found him with a broken leg near Lake Rotoiti.

Jake, 10, said he and Christian, 13, saw the injured kea hopping along a road while they were pig hunting last October.

"We picked him up, put him in a sack and took him home and rang up Natureland," he said.

Natureland Zoo operations manager Gail Sutton said the kea's right leg had a compound fracture as a result of being caught in a trap.

Click to read more ...

Volunteers helping cheeky keas go lead-free

Kea inspecting wood work. Image by Maria HellstromCardrona singer-songwriter Martin Curtis had been entertaining school children with kea stories for years before he learned about the Kea Conservation Trust and its drive to save the endangered bird.

Click to read more ...