Five kea have been taken to the South Island Wildlife Hospital for lead poisoning treatment in recent weeks, Doc says.
Of the five, one has died and four have been treated and released.
"Kea are naturally inquisitive and because lead is soft and tastes sweet to them, they will chew on lead-based materials found in their habitat," Doc said.
However, lead — commonly found in older roofing materials such as flashing and nails — is highly toxic to kea and can affect almost every major organ system.
"In hospital, the kea undergo chelation therapy to remove lead from their system. Treatment is only effective within a narrow window after exposure."
Doc ranger Tracey Dearlove said the risks to curious kea from ingesting lead were complex and often linked to scrounging for human food.
"When kea get easy access to human foods, through unsecured rubbish, compost bins or people feeding them, they quickly learn to scrounge. Once they associate people with food, they are more likely to hang around houses, eat lead on old buildings and cause damage to property. This also makes them more vulnerable to other risks, such as being hit by cars," she said.
"We work with local communities to help people with kea-proofing their properties. The three golden rules are: remove all access to food, remove all sources of lead, and make your property as boring as possible to kea.
"Securing rubbish and compost bins is critical. If kea access food even once it can alter their behaviour, and what happens at one property can have flow-on effects for neighbours across the community. When people are out naturing they can also make sure that kea don’t get access to their food, and spread the word to others who may not know."
More than 800 kea have had blood samples tested for lead between 2006 and 2022. Of these 84% had some lead detected, indicating lead exposure and 23% had toxic blood lead levels.
Both Doc and the Kea Conservation Trust have work under way to reduce sources of lead in kea habitat. Lead shot is no longer used in work to control tahr, and lead is removed from Doc structures as back-country structures are maintained. At least 125 Doc structures have had lead removed in the last 18 months.
Financial assistance from the Kea Conservation Trust is available to individuals and businesses wanting to remove lead from their buildings in areas with kea.
The trust has been leading work to remove lead from private dwellings working with property owners in areas throughout the South Island.
Since the start of the trust’s programme, the equivalent of more than 500 buildings have been made lead-free, removing four tonnes of lead from the environment.
Doc and the Kea Conservation Trust also provide advice and support when kea are getting into things they should not.
By Janna Sherman
