Keas, native parrots of New Zealand known for their curiosity, are more likely to try new foods when they have access to human food — which, at times, leads to the ingestion of baits poisoned with 1080 in lethal quantities.
Now, tests conducted around Arthur’s Pass, using non-toxic baits, show that adding an extract from the mint family may help deter these birds. Earlier versions of the mentholated repellent degraded too quickly inside the bait, but in the latest trials, where the compound was applied as a coating, wild keas ingested significantly less bait at high concentrations of the repellent.
Still, in the village areas where the tests took place, the birds continued to have access to human food — with some experiments even being interrupted by distractions caused by people feeding the animals nearby.
Researchers warn that it is harder to change the keas’ feeding behavior through repellents when they are used to trying new flavors, underscoring that preventing the parrots’ access to human food must remain a priority.
