Three kea killed in Fiordland during 1080 operation

Thursday, 23 July 2020

A 1080 drop in Wet Jacket, Fiordland has killed half of the monitored population of kea in operations area.

The Department of Conservation confirmed last week that following an operation in Wet Jacket, Fiordland, three of the six kea with radio tracking were killed in a 1080 drop.

Initially 21 kea were monitored in the area, but only six monitors were left active prior to the drop.

The purpose of the operation was to protect kiwi chicks, which had been attacked by stoats.

It was the first time a 1080 operation had been conducted in the area.

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It is the second time this year DOC have recorded a kill rate of 50 per cent following a 1080 drop in Matukuku Valley, in which six out of 12 kea monitored were killed.

DOC South Island southern director Aaron Fleming​ said the survival rate of kea population were far better with the use of 1080 than if it wasn’t used.

In areas with predator control, nesting success increased from 10 per cent to 70 per cent during a beech mast season, he said.

Kea at Wet Jacket were likely to have a much better nesting success, including the survival of young kea, next breeding season, he said.

“However, that doesn’t make it any easier when we do lose individual kea.”

Previous research showed kea were most vulnerable to 1080 at scrounging sites close to human activity, but the findings at Wet Jacket showed that at remote sites, which had not been previously exposed to aerial 1080, kea can still be at risk, he said.

The findings indicated that more research was required to understand kea behaviour.

Kea Conservation Trust chairwoman Tamsin Orr-Walker​ said 1080 drops was a necessary activity but would like to see more research implemented to mitigate the impact the poison had on kea.

There had been research trails to divert kea away from feeding on 1080 bait pallets that Orr-Walker would like to see implemented in 1080 drops.

There also needed to be more research on survival of kea in the areas where 1080 was dropped, she said.

Zero Invasive Predators have recently released their research into using aversion bait on captive kea.

The study showed that out of the 11 captive kea used in the trial, the 10 that initially took the aversion bait with anthraquinone and learned to avoid it.

Predator ecologist Maggie Nichols​ said because the trial was used in a captive environment, it couldn’t be used to determine what the success would be in the wild.

What the research did suggest was that kea could be taught to avoid baits, Nichols said.

Nichols hoped that someone else would be able to trial aversion baits with wild kea.

To trial mitigation methods in predator control operations, extensive planning resources and research design was needed, Fleming said.

There was also the risk that using a repellent could also deter pests and therefore undermine the operation.

DOC would trial one or more methods, such as bait deterrents or using tahr meat as distraction, in an upcoming operation, he said.