Olaf

Olaf was banded in October 2021 in Arthur's Pass Village. He was a juvenile male at the time. He was banded along with Dre. Olaf was taken immediately to the South Island Wildlife Hospital in Christchurch with extremely high levels of lead present in his blood tests. He underwent chelation treatment there to bring the levels down before being released away from the village after his treatment in Dec 2021. The Kea Conservation Trust and Arthur's Pass community are working on removing lead from key buildings in Arthur's Pass village where kea eat the lead (which tastes sweet to them) and accumulates in their body. Hopefully in a few more years, no more kea will need to be treated for lead poisoning. If you wish to donate to this lead removal project, please contact the Arthur's Pass Wildlife Trust or the Kea Conservation Trust to make a donation. July 2022 update: Olaf was found dead a month or so after he was released from the Wildlife Hospital. Post mortem results could not identify the cause of death because he was recovered five months after death, but it is likely he was too weak after severe lead poisoning and several months in the Wildlife Hospital to properly survive in the wild.