Kea are endemic to the mountains of South Island, New Zealand and range from Kahurangi to Fiordland, including the Kaikoura Ranges.
The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand and is native to the mountains of South Island, New Zealand.
The population is sparsely distributed across a range of approximately 3.5 million hectares from Kahurangi to Fiordland, and including the Kaikoura Ranges.
The population is a fraction of what it once was, largely due to persecution between the late 1860s and early 1970s, although pockets of high population densities persist in some areas, such as around Arthur’s Pass and South Westland.
The feasibility of a captive or island insurance population needs to be investigated.
• Image | ©️ Bernard Spragg. NZ, Public Domain, (CC0 1.0)
• Sources | (del Hoyo, Elliott, Sargatal, Christie, & de Juana, 2017; Orr-Walker, Kemp, Adams, & Roberts, 2015; Tebbich, Taborsky, & Winkler, 1996; The Wikimedia Foundation, 2020; Williams, 2001)
