Earlier this year, bird keeper Jasmine ventured to Matukituki Valley in Mt Aspiring National Park to assist our partners Kea Conservation Trust with vital conservation fieldwork. The knowledge our bird keepers have in handling intelligent parrots like kea safely and reliably is extremely valuable for conservation work like this, and Jasmine was able to assist the Trust's rangers with banding and fitting transmitters to wild kea.
These charismatic birds are nationally endangered and are estimated to number less than 5,000 individuals in the wild. The monitoring work that Kea Conservation Trust carry out allows conservationists to better understand their reproductive successes, estimate sub-adult and adult kea populations in the valley, and document the risk from predators to these incredible alpine parrots. Auckland Zoo has been supporting Kea Conservation Trust since 2009 and you enable this mahi every time you visit kea at the Zoo.
Watch our video below to learn more!