New kea strategy aims to secure survival and return kea to their natural range

Kea photo by Sarah Webber

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the Department of Conservation and the Kea Conservation Trust, supported by Ngā Iwi o Te Tauihu, have collaborated to produce a ten-year Kea Recovery Strategy “Te Rautaki Whakaora Kea”.

The strategy aims to foster the survival and recovery of kea across Te Waipounamu/South Island and provides direction and guidance for partners, organisations and groups involved in kea conservation.

The strategy notes that kea were once distributed throughout both of the main islands of Aotearoa New Zealand and their range extended from the mountains to the sea – ki uta ki tai. Following the arrival of Europeans, up to 150,000 kea were culled under a government bounty scheme prompted by attacks on sheep, resulting in a massive population decline.

Kea were provided full protection in 1986 and they are now classed as Nationally Endangered with an estimated population of between 1,000 and 5,000 adults. Today, kea are only found in Te Waipounamu/South Island and the population is mainly concentrated along the slopes of the Kā Tiritiri o te Moana/Southern Alps.

“Despite the iconic status of kea and their cultural significance to Ngāi Tahu as a taonga species, the population is continuing to decline,” Fiona Sloan, the Ngāi Tahu representative on the kea recovery programme, says.

“This collaborative strategy will pave the way for Ngāi Tahu to exercise our rangatiratanga and kaitiakitanga by becoming leaders in the protection and recovery of kea populations,” she says.

Fiona Sloan

While previous research has contributed to a broad understanding of kea, substantial gaps in knowledge remain, says DOC Science Advisor and Kea Recovery Group lead Kerry Weston.

“The strategy identifies a need for greater understanding of the relative impacts of the main threats to kea, such as predators and lead poisoning across the landscape. There is also an urgent need for new kea-safe tools and approaches to effectively manage predators, particularly in eastern areas where stoats and feral cats are having a big impact.”

“Developing new ways to monitor kea populations and their response to conservation management efforts is another priority. This is something that is particularly challenging for a species as mobile and wide-ranging as kea.”

To mitigate against the risk to kea of accidental injury and death resulting from their natural curiosity and interactions with humans, the strategy also recommends improved advocacy and education to enable kea and humans to co-exist in a positive way.

You can read the full strategy document here.