Kea

ᔥ NZ Herald

I’m not sure what sort of stupidity blessed the boy who thought chucking rocks at a kea was a good idea…but it looks like he got away with it:

A 12-year-old boy who caused outrage when he killed a kea on a school ski trip has handed over the dead parrot and apologised to conservation authorities.

But the Christchurch boy will not face any further action after he and his school pledged to help conservation efforts to protect the endangered mountain parrot.

The Chisnallwood Intermediate School pupil horrified classmates and teachers when he picked up a rock and hurled it at the kea, killing it instantly on a trip to Canterbury skifield Porter Heights last Friday.

It is believed there are fewer than 5000 kea left in the Southern Alps – the only place in the world where they are found.

School principal Richard Paton – who has described his pupil’s actions as “mindless” – met the boy, his parents and Department of Conservation (DOC) staff today.

Hmmm the one he chucked the rock at is really endanegered…its dead parrot.

When I was a kid going on holiday I would leave late at night so I could see how many possums I could run over on the drive over the hills at Coromandel. I have always enjoyed bombing up possums and rabbits as they are pests. My best ever night possum shooting was 225 possums at Matamata.

It is a pity that do-gooder anti-gun weirdos and greenies don’t see videos and stories like this before they protest about 1080 and hunting.

The Department of Conservation has released video footage of a possum killing and eating a young kea.

Researchers using nest-cameras have for the first time recorded attacks on defenceless kea nests invaded by stoats and possums in South Westland. Possums were known to kill adult kaka but for the first time have been filmed attacking the threatened species of native parrot, which only lives in forest and alpine areas of the South Island.

A large numbers of kea nests were failing in the wild, said DOC’s Brent Barrett.

“We are just midway through the breeding season and of eleven nests we’ve had under surveillance three have been devastated by stoats and possums. That’s a loss of six chicks.

“It was a grisly surprise to see photos of a possum eating a nearly fledged kea and video showing the prolonged and tormented death of chicks attacked by stoats,” Mr Barrett said.

Nearly all the monitored nests were visited by possums, which meant there was a huge risk to the lowland populations of kea.

Mr Barrett said was distressing to discover that just how long it takes chicks to die during a prolonged attack by stoats.

I’ll be continuing to swerve to hit any possums I see on the road