Cheeky kea to join Paradise Park’s free flying show
by Alison Hales
The macaws, caiques, cockatoos and conures which already display their skills at Paradise Park’s daily flying show in Cornwall are to be joined by one of our captive-bred keas in a few weeks. The unique and famously intelligent Kea Parrot (Nestor notabilis), native to New Zealand, where they are a protected species and listed as “vulnerable” in the wild, have bred many times at the Park.
The kea’s notorious urge to explore, and their well-known destructive nature in the wild, make them pests for residents of South Island, but an attraction for tourists. Visitors should beware though these “clowns of the mountains” love backpacks, packed lunches, boots and any rubber parts on cars they can get their beaks on!