Poochie

Poochie is an adult male Milford Sound kea with a fondness for small, smooth, white rocks, which he parades around and shares with the staff at the Milford Sound Lodge - also known as lodgies. During one of his many visits the lodgies noticed a limp on his right leg and, after getting in touch with the Department of Conservation and the Kea Conservation Trust, they were instructed to capture him and bring him to DOC for further investigation. After a 30-minute pursuit involving a hoola-hoop, a spool, a brush and, most importantly, a bouncy tennis ball, lodgies Lauren, Charlotte, and Henrique were able to capture him and drive him down to the DOC office in Te Anau. He spent most of the drive looking out the window and calmly admiring the breath-taking Milford Road. After further observation and analysis, DOC’s staff concluded that Poochie is a healthy kea and drove him back to the Milford Sound Lodge where he was released with his brand new bling - a white AA on green band. Only seen by himself before being caught, Poochie has since then been observed with a circus of juveniles (did you know a group of kea is called a circus?), and sometimes a female or two, who seem to follow his leadership. The lodgies like to think that the other kea are jealous of his bling.