THE KEA AND ITS WAYS.

Lake County Press, Issue 2767, 9 January 1919, Page 5

THE KEA AND ITS WAYS.

Depredations In the Lakes District. Interesting Experiences Recalled. Mr R. Rourcher, who was at one time stock inspector in this district, writes as follows to the Southern Cross : “ I read about a week ago a letter or an article in the Southern Cross describing the ravages and works of the kea, or mountain parrot, in which the writer went back only to the eighties as their first appearance as a destroyer of sheep. I can, however, go back to the early seventies, when the first instances of their depredations came under the notice of sheep owners in the Wanaka and Hawea districts. In ’72 I went up to Hawea Lake to manage the shed during the shearing, for a friend and old schoolmate, and my attention was directed to some large lumps on the backs of a good many wethers. These lumps had all the appearances of big boils after bursting And just getting well. They were nearly all in the same place on the back, just where the short ribs commence. That evening at dinner I spoke to my friend about them and what I thought they were, when he laughed and said that they were the work of keas or parrots, who were after the kidney fat At first I thought that he was taking a rise out of me, as I was only a year or two from the Old Country. However, I went and made enquiries from the shepherds, who one and all substantiated his statement; and furthermore, he or they explained their theory of how the birds came to commit their crimes, namely; On the Fork Run, that part of Henry Campbell’s property, the Wanaka Run, situated between the Hawea and Wanaka Lakes and the Hawea and Olutha Rivers, near the top of the range, there was an old shepherd’s hut which at the time I am alluding to was only used when mustering was going on. The shepherd used to catch and kill two or three sheep and throw the skins over a rail supported by two posts, so as to get them dried, when the packman used to take them down to the head station. The caul fat was spread on the skins very often, and another skins very often, and another skin thrown on top of it. These skins in '69, ’7O, and ’7l were often found torn, and most of the fat eaten, and the keas were often seen on the skins digging away at them The manager stopped the skins being left there, and presently sheep were found with the previously described wounds. In ’76 I bought into Hawea Run with another friend, and noticed that there were few sheep with the marks on them, and on inquiry I learnt that the keas killed the sheep outright in most cases. The shepherd and my friend told me that it was found that it was apparently old birds who did the damage, and usually single birds at that, but from personal experience I can state that I have seen large flocks of keas operating together as if playing a game. I went out for weeks carrying gun cartridges, but mostly with little or no success. I might not see a kea for weeks and then drop on one or two. “ However, i was not discouraged, and usually took my gun with me, and on one occasion with most decided effect. We went with the shepherd up the Hunter River valley at the head of Lake Hawea, and were engaged for about a week snow-raking on the Mount Jones Range. One day we got about two or three thousand sheep near the top of the bill and started in the afternoon to take them down to the low country. Instead of the sheep keeping on the top ridge of the spur, as we mostly got them to do, they startled down the middle of the gully which was a gravel slip, but being covered with snow allowed the sheep to get down all right. The gully near the bottom of the slip closed in, and the sides rose up nearly perpendicularly, and were covered by trees, principally birch We heard and saw a mob of keas flying above the sheep, but owing to the noise made by us and the dogs, forcing the sheep along, they did not come too close. There wore, however, one or two sheep left in the deep snow, and being anxious to got the sheep out of the gully, and into the river valley before dark we left the few behind. The following morning I took my gun and went up one side of the gully above the trees, and soon saw the mob of keas attacking and pulling to pieces the poor sheep. I had the satisfaction of getting 60 odd that day. We used to consider that the keas were responsible for over half our death-rate on the Mount Jones and Timaru runs Mr Thompson, on Wanaka West Station, lost in one night 500 or more hoggets that had been mustered in a paddock near the station, and which had been followed down the hillside by keas. “ Some years after, when I was Sheep Inspector at Queenstown, in ’B3 ’Bl, I reported on the scourge that the keas were to the Government, and with several who were interested in squatting, we got the promise of a bonus ol 1 one shilling for every shilling paid by [ the Lake County Council, or twc ‘ shillings for each keabeak deliverer ’ to me. I got that year several ■ thousand beaks, but as I was shifter ’ to another district Ido not know if i was stopped then or after.” 1 For choice jewellery, wedding and birth 1 day presents, latest in watches, optical good ) and silverware. 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