FOR BERLIN ZOO

Evening Star, Issue 22379, 1 July 1936, Page 11

FOR BERLIN ZOO

PERMIT FOR SIX REAS CAPTURE* IN EGLINTIN VALLEY I Six keas from the Te Anau distrlc* are shortly to be shipped to the Berlu| Zoo. Keas are numerous 'in the vicinity of the Eglinton road, and t| prominent: German woolbuyer has re* oeived a permit from the Minister o| Internal Affairs to capture si* of th*i birds for zoological purposes. The kea is the New Zealand parrot* It is remarkable' for the fact that iti ancient habits have been changed coni sequent upon the introduction of sheep. Formerly living upon fruit, seeds, and insect grubs, during a pfriod .«( scarcity of its natural foods the ken took to haunting the sheep .station* and feeding on the offal of those killed for. consumption. That necessity begag its career as a prey on living sheep* The kea quickly showed a preference for the fat surrounding the kidneys.' By some means learning the_ exact loca* tion of this desirable fat. it tears off the wool and flesh of the lions and reaches the kidneys. ■ The parrot is somewhat latter than! the kaka, and is of a gettral olive green colour, the feathers having s( black margin and the wings and tail being varied with blue and yellow; Ini summer it inhabits the rugged * slopes Of the mountains, but in the Winter it visits the lowlands, where the sheep appear to he safer from its attacks. Its nesting habits are similar to those of the kaka, in the hollow of trees o* rock crevices. - •, ,