Heath

Heath was banded near Riwaka which is near the eastern flanks of Kahurangi National Park (Takaka Hill) in the north-western South Island. This kea was banded in August 2024 as a juvenile and seen hanging about with an older, adult male (Glider Ken) at one of Tasman Pine's forestry sites at Riwaka. Over the years, large groups of kea are seen in forestry sites and often visit fresh cutover or newly harvested sites, often where crews and machinery are working. Kea, being the curious and playful creatures they are, can often cause damage to machinery and be a tad pesky when they interact with the forestry crews, however, Kea Conservation Trust and forestry companies such as Tasman Pine and One Forty One work together and make an excellent effort to conserve and protect kea and make this vital part of their habitat a safe place for them to be. Across New Zealand, plantation forest is an important habitat component for many species including kiwi, rare snails, bats and kea and there is significant work being done to help native species at these sites. We have been working closely with Tasman Pine to understand kea use of their plantation forests, through banding and surveying work, among other things. Heath and Glider Ken are named after the son and father, respectively, of Dan the environmental manager for Tasman Pine who has a large involvement in trying to make their forests a better place for kea. Heath the kea is just a wee youngster with a great, long life ahead of him, just as baby Heath - who he is named after, was less than one year old at the time of banding. We seek to understand what we can about precious taonga species such as kea, so that we can protect them and all their various habitat options long into the future, and find engaging ways to pass on this knowledge for future generations (like baby Heath) to protect and help them thrive.