Call for drivers to slow down after two endangered young kea found dead on road

Friday, 17 June 2022

Two young kea have been found dead in Arthur’s Pass village this month. (File photo)

Residents of a South Island mountain village are calling for travellers to stick to the speed limit and stop feeding the wildlife, after the deaths of two endangered native parrots.

Two juvenile kea – believed to be birds known as Chickpea and Kuschla – have been found dead in Arthur’s Pass village from suspected vehicle strike so far this month.

Kea, a taonga species for Ngāi Tahu, are found throughout South Island mountains and forests. They are considered nationally endangered, and the Department of Conservation (DOC) estimates between 1000 and 5000 birds remain.

Local DOC ranger Nic Menary said one of the birds was found on June 3, and the other on June 15.

* Bruce the very clever kea only has half a beak, so he worked out how to use pebbles to preen himself

* Forty percent of kea in South Island study killed by predators

Almost half of New Zealand’s bird species are extinct, and 80 per of those remaining are threatened. Can we reverse the decline? (Video first published in October 2021)

“Unfortunately it’s a bit of a common occurrence for us.

“We have a freezer full of kea, and a lot of the ones from around here were vehicle strike.”

In the last two years, 11 kea had died on the road around Arthur’s Pass village, Menary said.

Both of the latest deaths had been relatively young birds, and their immaturity could sometimes be a factor, he said.

One was a well-known banded female, known as Chickpea.

“Chickpea was quite a well-known, popular kea. [She had] been hanging around the town quite a bit.

“People get quite attached, they love these birds.”

Menary said while the speed limit through the village was 50kph, motorists often drove through faster.

“When people are driving through somewhere like Arthur’s Pass, there’s a reasonable risk of hitting a native bird on the road.”

Many kea are banded so they can be easily identified. (File photo)

He advised motorists to stick to the speed limit to reduce that risk.

“We also don’t want people doing anything that encourages kea to be near the road.”

People feeding the birds was the big problem, although the wily parrots were also known to try and steal food from unsuspecting guests outside the village store.

Although people enjoyed seeing them, Menary said feeding them put them at risk.

“We want people to discourage kea from being around the town if they possibly can.”

Kea Conservation Trust community engagement coordinator Renée Habluetzel said she had helped band Kuschla herself, and the bird was actually named after her daughter.

“I feel so bad about that, I won’t be doing that again.”

She believed the speed limit needed to be lowered further, to 30kph.

“We [also] have a lot of children here, particularly in the summer. It would make sense to keep them safe as well.”

The local kea were getting habituated to being fed by humans, and it stopped them looking for their own food, she said.

“People often say kea are the clown of the mountain. We often joke around here anybody that feeds kea – they’re the real clowns.

“We should respect them for what they are, they’re not there to entertain us.”

Kea are the world’s only alpine parrots, and are facing several threats.

About 40% of kea being monitored for a DOC study had been killed by predators – mostly stoats and feral cats – over the last few years.

Kea in settlements like Arthur’s Pass village were also at risk of lead poisoning, due to a tendency to chew on roofing materials in pre-1990s buildings.

Habluetzel said recent testing had shown all young birds tested in Arthur's Pass had some level of lead poisoning, which could cause mental impairment – and may be another factor in kea being killed on the road.