Kea

Olive‑green with blazing orange underwings, the kea is the cheeky genius of Te Waipounamu. Renowned for their curiosity and smarts, they can solve puzzles, make tools, and team up to outwit road cones, predator traps, and even you (keep an eye on your lunch)! Kea are social, playful and sometimes destructive – a mix that once got them persecuted, with 150,000 killed under a government bounty. Today, fewer than 7,000 remain, facing threats from stoats, cats, lead poisoning and cars. Protecting them means keeping the Southern Alps ringing with their signature keee‑aaa for generations to come.