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What Are Keas Predators?
What Are Keas Predators?
Robert Thorne••6 min read
Stoats
Stoats
On average, males measure 187–325 mm (7.4–12.8 in) in body length, while females measure 170–270 mm (6.7–10.6 in). The tail measures 75–120 mm (3.0–4.7 in) in males and 65–106 mm (2.6–4.2 in) in females. In males, the hind foot measures 40.0–48.2 mm (1.57–1.90 in), while in females it is 37.0–47.6 mm (1.46–1.87 in).
are the primary predators of kea, and cats are also a major threat when cat populations make incursions into kea habitat. Possums are known to prey on kea and disturb nests although they are not as severe a threat as stoats, and rats have also occasionally been observed preying on kea eggs.
Do KEAS eat sheep?
While kea have long been known to prey on sheep in the high country, new research has looked at the impact of the attacks. Kea strikes - which happen when the parrot digs its beak into the wool, eating it, the fat and the flesh - have long been a costly problem for farmers.
What do kea eat in the wild?
Foods include grasshoppers, beetles (adults and larvae), ant larvae, weta and cicada nymphs, other invertebrates and the roots, bulbs, leaves, flowers, shoots, seeds, nectar and fruit of over 200 native plant species (Brejaart, 1988; Clarke, 1970).
