Recent repellent trials hope to teach kea to avoid bait drops during aerial operations
Kea are naturally curious and have a higher risk of eating bait. Here's how we are working to prevent this.
We’re working with the Department of Conservation to trial two new bird repellents that could train kea to avoid bait during predator control operations.
The two repellants, anthraquinone, which makes the birds feel temporarily sick, or the minty flavoured d-pulegone – were added to non-toxic baits to teach the curious birds to avoid 1080 drops.
The latest round of trials was finished in November, however the results will take time to analyse and will take several months to come in.
For more information on the repellent trials or the impact on kea, check out the article below.