Education of Zoo Visitors and Advocacy of Kea - Kea Conservation ...

There are areas which impact on the on the holding of Kea in captivity. In order to
promote this species and provide positive advocacy opportunities, captive individuals
need to be maintained at high levels of health, physically and behaviourally.
Due to their exploratory nature, intelligence and highly variable harsh habitat, captive
Kea require a high level of environmental enrichment, i.e. enhancing the captive
environment by introducing unpredictability and complexity (Young 2003).
Environmental enrichment aims to allow natural behaviour expression, behavioural
choices and fulfilment of motivational requirements. The use of enrichment can
reduce stress and abnormal behaviours as such, having a positive impact on the
welfare of captive species (Young 2003). A basic motivation for all animals is to
breed; this species at present is prevented from fulfilling this, due to a moratorium on
breeding put in place by T. Pullar in 1996.
An unpublished study by Orr-Walker (2005) on the managements practices of captive
Kea in New Zealand found a large proportion of the population (78%) showing
stereotypies (abnormal behaviours, defined as: 1) performed repetitively, 2) have no
discernible function, 3) relatively invariable in form, (Montaudouina & Le Papea
2005)). Enrichment in this study was found to have a significant effect on lowering
the performance of stereotypies.
The threat classification of Kea was set by Department of Conservation in 2002; they
are currently classed as Nationally Endangered. The actual wild population size has
been estimated at between 1,000 and 5,000 birds, this figure was produced by
Anderson (1986) cited in Bond & Diamond (1992) as such, this is out dated as the last
census was taken twenty years ago. Anecdotes of high country users such as tourist
operators, farmers and recreational users, state that encounters with large flocks of kea
are now rare, support this (Elliott & Kemp 1999).
14