Rare, ‘inquisitive’ creature shot in leg in New Zealand. It’s going home healed
A kea was released back into the wild after a 5-month recovery from a gunshot wound, New Zealand wildlife officials said.
The young male parrot was found in February in Golden Bay’s Ligar Bay with a shattered leg bone, according to a July 10 news release from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation.
Kea Conservation Trust staff flew the bird to Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University’s Wildbase Hospital, where he underwent “complex treatment” and a lengthy recovery, according to the release.
The kea was released in Cobb Valley on July 8, experts said.
Officials said younger kea are intelligent and “especially inquisitive,” leading them to interact with people and objects in ways that can get them into trouble.
Even so, officials said it is “unacceptable and illegal to shoot or otherwise injure kea.” The Kea Conservation Trust reports that a number of kea are found poisoned, shot or injured in human-wildlife conflicts each year.
Experts recommend making property “as boring as possible” because the curious birds will be attracted to food, bikes, shoes, toys and even power tools.
“If they get a taste of food even once, they can hang around for weeks hoping to get more,” wildlife officials said in the release.
It is estimated that there are between 1,000 and 5,000 kea left in New Zealand’s South Island — the only place in the world they are found. Their natural habitat ranges from the mountains to lowland coast regions, experts said.
Kea are listed as endangered both nationally in New Zealand and globally on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
This story was originally published July 11, 2025 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Rare, ‘inquisitive’ creature shot in leg in New Zealand. It’s going home healed."
