KEAS FOR BERLIN ZOO

Southland Times, Issue 22956, 31 July 1936, Page 7

KEAS FOR BERLIN ZOO

CAPTURED IN HOLLYFORD VALLEY LEAVING NEXT WEEK Six natives of the Hollyford Valley leave soon for Germany. But they arc not belated visitors for the Olympic Games. They are keas who are to find a home at the Berlin Zoo. Comfortably housed in a large packing case, the birds arrived in Dunedin by the south express on Wednesday. They were procured by Mr D. Campbell, who is in charge of the Post Office at Hollyford, at the request of Mr F. Tyson, manager of the New Zealand Shipping Company, Dunedin. Mr Tyson arranged for the capture of the birds when he heard that Mr Bruno Beyer, a recent visitor from Germany, who had been in New Zealand studying the native fauna and flora, had shown keen interest in the kea and expressed a desire to obtain some specimens to present to the Berlin Zoo. Keas are numerous in the Hollyford region and no difficulty was experienced in obtaining fine specimens. Capturing them proved simple. Keas are inquisitive and they were lured to close quarters by unusual noises and were then caught in wire snares as they hopped along the ground. Special permission has been obtained from the Minister of Internal Affairs for the birds to be shipped overseas. The birds are at present on view in the vestibule of the Grand Hotel, Dunedin, awaiting their long sea journey which begins next week.