Source: Radio New Zealand
Two kea have been killed by lead poisoning. (File photo) RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Lead poisoning has killed two kea in Southern Westland in recent weeks, and led to four others being hospitalised, the Department of Conservation says.
DoC was asking for people’s help to protect the endangered birds by removing sources of the toxin and never feeding the endangered birds.
One of the kea was found dead, and one died at the South Island Wildlife Hospital.
The other four were released after chelation therapy – which was the only way to reverse the impacts, and had to be done within a short window of exposure, it said.
Chelation therapy involves vets administering rounds of medication which binds to the lead and it then passes in the birds’ urine.
Department of Conservation ranger Tracey Dearlove said kea were naturally inquisitive and prone to chewing on lead building components.
“These are normally buildings constructed before 1991, and often it’s in the form of lead head nails and lead flashings,” she said.
Tracey Dearlove said lead ammunition was also still in use throughout the country.
“Unfortunately, kea will chew on carcasses that have been shot with lead and ingest it that way,” she said.
Of more than 800 kea that had blood samples tested for lead between 2006 and 2022, 84 per cent had some lead detected, indicating lead exposure, and 23 per cent had toxic blood lead levels.
“Lead poisoning is a really serious issue. It’s one of the major threats to kea,” Dearlove said.
Kea which had ingested lead typically looked “slow and lethargic”, she said.
“Often we’ll see them sort of hunkering down, looking very unwell and sometimes they’re vomiting. They can become very emaciated and when we catch them, if they’ve had lead poisoning, sometimes there’s not a lot to them. And unfortunately, it can impair their behavioural cognition, so we find that kea that have had lead poisoning can become more susceptible to other causes of death, like being hit by cars.”
DoC was encouraging people to follow the “three golden rules” of removing access to food, removing all sources of lead, and making properties as boring as possible to kea.
“All of these issues are interlinked. When kea get fed, they often come onto properties and hang around for longer, and this means they’re more likely to chew on buildings and get lead poisoning,” Dearlove said.
There was funding available from the Kea Conservation Trust for individuals and businesses wanting to remove lead from their buildings in areas with kea, she said.
DoC said lead shot was no longer being used in tahr control work, and it was removing lead from its backcountry structures – with at least 125 made lead free in the last 18 months.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
