Captive Kea

Captive kea provide an opportunity for people to learn about, understand and empathise with their wild counterparts. Kea in the wild are often considered a nuisance and as such are still persecuted because of their propensity to investigating and destroying huma property.

Fostering understanding and tolerance for species which are so interactive is vitally important for their continued survival. It is only through changing perceptions of kea as well as changing peoples behaviours when they encounter them in the wild that kea will be protected in the future.

However to ensure the public are inspired to make these critical changes in awareness and behaviour, their experience with kea in captivity must be one that is inspiring. This can only be achieved through ensuring individual facilities enclosures and husbandry techniques are of a standard that positively fulfills the species physical and psychological requirements and immerse and enthuses the public.

The World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA) promotes the importance of zoos to connect the public to conservation initiatives in the wild. For NZ zoos to connect their kea to the public and as a result, make real conservation impact, they must:

Priority species include the great apes, wolves and... kea!
High priority species are those which have complex environmental demands in the wild. These demands can impact on survival and as such, the ability of the individual to make complex cognitive decisions is crucial for survival. Generalist species adapted to an extreme environment, species with complex social structures and/or those which exhibit complex anti-predator behaviours, are all required to make decisions from information previously learned and interpreted. These factors can make them difficult to hold well in captivity.

Kea are considered to be highly intelligent and have developed to survive in a complex environment. As such they fall into the category of a 'high priority species' requiring high levels of complexity and novelty in their environments to prevent abnormal repetitive behaviours (stereotypies).

To ensure abnormal behaviours do not develop they must be provided with an environment that is highly variable in its design and in enrichment items introduced within it. Any enrichment programme must be highly variable, evolving and adaptable and encompass the keas physiological, psychological and social requirements. Where possible, routines should be flexible to ensure the reduction of any anticipatory behaviour.

As any degree of stereotypic performance has been linked with a deficit in the captive environment, it may be concluded that there are potential welfare issues in holding kea in captivity that require careful management.

The captive population provides a unique opportunity for researchers to conduct behavioural observations and tests to better manage kea and kea threats in the wild.

All research projects must go through an extensive ethic approvals process, managed by Department of Conservation and either the research facilities own Animal Ethics Committees and/or the kea holders organisation. The majority of kea research projects centre around observations of the animals behaviour to a specific stimulus or to investigate specific behaviours. Projects which the KCT has utilised the kea population to date include:

Many of the kea currently held in captive institutions are genetically important and may potentially be used in future breeding programmes.

At present there is limited and highly selective breeding of kea as directed by the Species Coordinator. Although breeding is necessary to preserve maximum genetic diversity and normal kea reproductive behaviours, there will continue to be only limited breeding until all holders are up to minimum captive standards to ensure welfare is not compromised.