A campaign to discourage New Zealand’s charismatic mountain parrot, the kea, from hanging out at a tourist hotspot appears to be working. 

At Arthur’s Pass Café on a sunny autumn day, every table is full. Staff are hard pushed to keep up with coffee orders and clear the tables. When an outdoor table momentarily becomes vacant, a kea seizes its chance. It lands on the table appraising the likelihood of leftovers. It nudges a spoon with its hooked black beak, pecks at crumbs, then – seemingly disgruntled – sends a  plate crashing to the floor before hopping away. 

A crowd gathers and cameras click. Visitors are delighted with the show. Locals are less happy. For them, even one kea scavenging human food is still too many.

Arthur’s Pass conservationist Renée Habluetzel has spent four years trying to dissuade kea – New Zealand’s second largest native parrot (the kākāpō is bigger) from coming to town. When she took up her role as community engagement co-ordinator with the Kea Conservation Trust in 2021, kea were abundant, especially at the café where they would steal food from diners’ plates and hands and pose for selfies without fear.

“They are such playful birds,” she says. “They will do anything to get your attention.” But their love of the limelight is also their downfall.

When the birds come to town to scavenge for human food, they cross busy roads. Or they perch on moving car bonnets or surf on their roofs until they fall off and are hit by passing vehicles. Between 2020 and 2022, 12 kea were killed by cars including eight in Arthur’s Pass village itself. Habluetzel says the autopsies revealed the birds’ crops were full of “crap food”

She says the food they steal sticks in their gullets and prevents distribution of seeds. Some foods, such as chocolate, contain ingredients toxic to them. 

In towns, kea will also peck the lead on roof nails or flashings and get tangled in electrical wires. Lead from tyre weights or flashings cause nervous system damage, organ failure and eventually death. Forest and Bird spends up to $10,000 a year treating lead-poisoned kea. In other words, “towns are death traps,” says Habluetzel.

Kea are now listed as “threatened and nationally endangered”. They are thought to number less than 5,000. 

The Kea Conservation Trust was established in a 2006 campaign to preserve kea in their natural habitat and research issues related to them. Habluetzel was appointed to co-ordinate the trust’s activities and monitor kea in Arthur’s Pass, a popular stopping point for travellers between the South Island’s east and west coasts. “Don’t get me wrong,” she says, “I’m not a goody two-shoes trying to kill people’s fun. Once upon a time, I would have fed kea because they are so much fun to have around. Now I know we are harming the birds by encouraging them into our world.” 

She says attitudes in the village have also shifted and more people are spreading the message about the dangers of human interaction. Road deaths of kea have reduced markedly in the past 10 months.  

 Today in Arthur’s Pass – including at the café – posters urge people not to feed kea. Other efforts have been made to remove any objects on private property that might be a threat. In 2018, the KCT secured more than $1million from Jobs For Nature (Mahi mō te Taiao), a government initiative that funds programmes that benefit the environment. The money was used to remove lead nails and flashings from houses. “Residents were delighted. They got a freebie and it underscored our message,” says Habluetzel.

The departure from the village of a resident who refused to stop feeding the kea has also had an impact. Habluetzel says the man had continued to feed the birds despite repeated warnings from the Department of Conservation. “Birds were killed as they flew across the road to access the food. When he left town two years ago, the birds continued to turn up at the property for their feed.” Habluetzel posted pictures online of berries and other food to assure people they would not go hungry.

Sean Moran, who has leased Arthur’s Pass Café for 10 years, is also passionate about kea but he says the biggest threat to their survival is not access to human food, it’s predators. “We need to do more to get rid of the pests and vermin that prey on the young and eat the eggs. That goes for all birds.”

He believes kea will congregate in the village no matter whether there is human food available or not. “They are naturally social birds. They love human contact. If you go up to their natural habitat without food, they will still flock around you.” But he agrees human food is not good for the birds. “It’s like giving a child whisky. But some people ignore the signs or don’t understand them. Every day, staff ask people respectfully not to feed the birds, but some still do. There’s not much more we can do.” 

Renée Habluetzel would like infringement penalties introduced to deter those who continue to ignore the signs. The Kea Conservation Trust, Arthur’s Pass Association and the Arthur’s Pass Wildlife Trust have made submissions to the Selwyn District council seeking a bylaw to ban kea feeding on non-conservation land except for a conservation purpose.

Andrew Spanton, the environmental team leader at the Selwyn District Council says the council has investigated introducing a bylaw because of the effect on the health of kea and other risks associated with human contact. “If deemed suitable, the bylaw would give the council authority to stop the practice,” he said.

Meanwhile the lone kea at Arthur’s Pass Café waits patiently for the next plate to arrive. A couple sits down at the table. The woman points to the bird and breaks off a piece of her muffin. Her companion nudges her and points to the poster above her head. “Please Don’t Feed Me,” it says. She pops the piece of muffin in her mouth. The kea flies away.