Help is at hand to resolve kea issues

October 16th, 2014
[DOC press release]

Advice and support with managing kea issues is now available locally from Andrea Goodman, the recently appointed Conflicts Resolution Community Coordinator for the Kea Conservation Trust.

Andrea brings plenty of knowledge and experience to the role, having worked with kea in the past. She has a Masters degree in Ecology and a post graduate diploma in Wildlife Management.

Andrea moved to the Motueka Valley from St Arnaud with her family earlier this year, and is enjoying the part-time role now her children are all at school.

Andrea's focus is to work with people towards resolving issues with kea. This will usually involve making a site visit and coming up with practical recommendations.

She says, "There are some simple actions that can be taken such as not feeding kea or leaving food scraps around, but I can also provide specific recommendations to help towards resolving issues at each site."

Currently a diversionary activity frame (a kea playground) is being trialled at a Nelson Forests Ltd logging site (pictured, right).

It is hoped that this entertainment area will keep kea away from interacting with forestry equipment and out of trouble.

A range of the kea toys have been donated by Natureland, Wellington Zoo and Willowbank. Motion sensor cameras set up at the site show kea already interacting with the playground.

Andrea works 8 hours per week for the Kea Conservation Trust, funded by the Department of Conservation's Community Conservation Partnerships Fund and Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

She says she has been impressed with the attitudes of people she has worked with already.

"Despite the damage that kea can cause, people generally have their best interests in mind. Kea are a special bird. There are fewer than 5,000 left in the world, all of which are in the South Island."

Anyone wanting assistance can contact Andrea on or by email at . Reports of issues can also be entered on the Kea Conservation Trust Website at http://www.keaconservation.co.nz/support-kea/kea-conflict-report/

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