Annie K

Annie K was a quiet, gentle, 540g slip of a thing when first caught in February 2020. She was so docile to handle that it didn’t come as a surprise that her blood lead levels tested high, indicating she might have been feeling quite unwell. She was sent for treatment just in time, as it was touch and go for a few weeks as to whether or not she would survive the effects of the lead poisoning and she ended up having an extended hospital stay during the national alert level 4 lockdown during the covid crisis. She is clearly feeling much brighter now, and is becoming the terror of the town with her posse of pot plant plucking, rubbish bin raiding, clothes-peg pinching miscreants. If you see her, please don't feed her (or any kea) - she certainly doesn't need any encouragement! More about lead (Pb) and kea: A high level of lead in the blood can come from eating things that a Kea shouldn’t, such as lead nails and flashings from old buildings. Human interaction can affect the way that kea behave and feed, and this is where we see kea eating unusual items that they shouldn’t. Heavy metals such as lead can accumulate in kea over time, ultimately causing death if they don’t receive treatment as soon as possible. Annie K was given fluids and was flown to wildlife vet Dr Pauline at the Wildlife Hospital on Christchurch. Here she underwent chelation therapy to remove the lead in her blood. She remained under close observation by Dr Pauline. In April she was released into an aviary at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve so she could practice flying again. Annie K was released back to the wild near Franz Josef Glacier on the 11th May.