Closer encounters with NZ’s cheekiest parrot
Nelson’s Natureland wildlife park is planning a reputation makeover for New Zealand’s cheekiest parrot.
Two kea, Holly and Solitaire, have taken up residence in their new high-stud abode at the park - a large walk-through aviary built specifically for the endangered birds.
Natureland director Meg Rutledge said she hoped it would build bridges between kea and the general public.
‘‘The kea often get a reputation for being cheeky in a bad way and we’d really like to highlight that actually that intelligence and curiosity that they’re famous for is sort of what makes them so amazing,’’ Rutledge said.
After a month on their own, the two kea received a flock of visitors through the aviary doors on Saturday.
Auckland boy Kalle Watt, 6, who was visiting his Nelson grandmother, Angela, was clear about what impressed him most.
‘‘I like their beautiful wings,’’ he said.
His father Dougal was equally impressed and said the enclosure was ‘‘really cool’’ and ‘‘very beautiful’’.
Native to the top of the South Island and the world’s only alpine parrot, kea are an endangered species.
‘‘The surviving breeding pairs in the top-of-the-south are more under threat than the ones further down south so their conservation is super important,’’ Rutledge said.
Rutledge hoped the walkthrough enclosure would help people understand how to interact with kea in a eficial’’ way.
She said despite people’s best intentions, kea were not aided when fed by humans in the wild.
‘‘A lot of foods that we eat are toxic to them so you might not know that what you’re feeding to the bird is quite toxic to them ... it will take a little bit of time, but later they could end up getting quite sick or ill from it.’’
The walk-through aviary has been designed so people can get up close with the birds, while still giving the kea a space that mimics their natural habitat.
‘‘We drew some of our inspiration from Kahurangi National Park, which is a really important kea nesting habitat,’’ Rutledge said. ‘‘mutually ben-
The aviary includes alpine features such as rocks and native plant species, and has some high vantage points.
‘‘At the top of the aviary and the top of the perches up there, the birds can actually see even further than Natureland’s boundary and that’s a really great natural behaviour for the kea to have because they’re so used to being able to go above tree line.’’
The enclosure was sponsored by Nelson Forests, project managed by Gibbons and designed by Davis Ogilvie.
Rutledge said the enclosure had been built large enough to support more kea, but Natureland would take advice from the Department of Conservation as to when and how that might happen.