DOC staff recently banded 31 kea from a flock of about 36 at Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, the largest recorded since surveying started in 2019. Most of the birds are young kea, now fitted with microchip leg bands as part of a wider trial tracking how far kea travel across the Southern Alps.

Early data is already turning up surprises, with some birds clocking over 40km from the West Coast. It suggests the work of Te Manahuna Aoraki Project and neighbouring Predator Free South Westland is starting to connect across the landscape in a meaningful way.

It is an encouraging sign that our predator elimination work across 70% of the National Park is starting to make a difference for one of New Zealand’s most iconic species

Read the full story at NZ Herald, The Press, or Otago Daily Times