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I watched a program about how under threat keas are from non native predators like weasel's. Hope NZ gets on top of this
by fiftyacorn 6y ago
I watched a program about how under threat keas are from non native predators like weasel's. Hope NZ gets on top of this
- mkl 6y agoStoats more than weasels (related mustelids though). NZ has no native land mammals (just some small bats and sea mammals like seals and dolphins), so almost any mammal here is an introduced pest, and our native birds have suffered massively, given they didn't evolve for this kind of threat. There are many articles about the goals and process of getting rid of the pests. E.g. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48702762 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48702762, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/22/big-kill https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/22/big-kill I suspect our willingness to quickly go all-in on Covid elimination owes something to our familiarity with this other kind of biological threat elimination (a much bigger, longer process). Historically though, the biggest threat to kea in much of the 19th and 20th centuries was people. Some kea peck into sheep's backs, and there was a bounty on them for many years (grrr). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kea
- EdwardDiego 6y agoWeasels are just as bad for egg raiding and explosive population growth after a beech mast rodent plague, but not as lethal for the adult birds.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]