Conservation ecology of kea - Kea Conservation Trust website

Executive Summary
Conservation ecology of kea (Nestor notabilis)
Address for correspondence: 9 Mayroyd Terrace, Nelson.
joshkemp@ihug.co.nz
Investigation overview
Kea (Nestor notabilis) are large green parrots endemic to the montane areas of New
Zealand’s South Island. An extensive amount of their habitat is reserved in the New
Zealand system of national parks, within which kea are currently widespread (Bull et al.
1985), albeit at a very low density of approximately one bird per square mile (Jackson
1960; Clarke 1970; Bond & Diamond 1992).
Kea are presently classified by the Department of Conservation as a second priority
threatened species (Molloy & Davis 1994), but remarkably little is known about the size
and status of the wild population (Diamond & Bond 1999; Temple 1996). Anderson
(1986) guessed a total population size of 1000-5000 individuals by extrapolating a
density of one bird per square mile to the rest of the Southern Alps. A more precise
estimate is not available due to the lack of a reliable, cost-effective survey method.
A total kea population of 5000 (the upper limit of Anderson’s guess) is small enough to
conclude that the kea population has declined to some extent since the late 1800s – mid
1900s. During this period, kea abundance was such that 150 000 individuals were legally
killed under a government bounty scheme. To enable such a cull to take place, kea must
have been considerably more abundant than they are today. The anecdotes of old-time
high country users support this conjecture; encounters with large flocks of kea are now
relatively rare.
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