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Kākā numbers are on the rise, looking for food around houses and farms. But these curious birds will eat anything, including lead which makes a sweet change from totara berries. Made with funding from NZ On Air.
For nearly five months, this North Island Kākā has been kept in captivity at the Otorohanga Kiwi House.
Now she's been released into Pureora Forest following a brush with lead poisoning.
But when the cage opens, the bird named Te Hokinga Mai (meaning "the return") isn't ready to be returned to the wild.
Te Hokinga Mai first came into captivity earlier this year in July on Ollie Mitchell's farm in Te Kuiti, after his son found the endangered bird on their driveway.
Mr Mitchell assumed the cats and dog had gotten the Kākā "because it couldn't fly".
But after the bird was sent to the Wildbase Recovery Centre in Palmerston North it was discovered that the cause of the Kākā's illness was lead poisoning.
Mr Mitchell says "we're assuming that it spent so much time on the roof picking the totara berries that were there, that it must have been the source of the poison".
After the Kākā was treated at Wildbase it was moved onto the Otorohanga Kiwi House for monitoring and rehabilitation.
Manager Jo Russell says the taste of lead for Kākā is "very sweet," and "lead poisoning happens when they get close to the human environment and they start interacting with different tastes and different flavours".
While it's nearly impossible to keep Kākā away from lead flashings, one thing we can do is discourage them from urban environments by not feeding them around homes.
"We don't want them to hang around and develop that taste for lead," Mrs Russell says.
After more than thirty minutes of waiting, Te Hokinga Mai finally gets a helping hand and eventually makes the move, spreading her wings and flying out of her cage into the bush.
Local kuia Francis Hughes says the Kākā are a "gift that our ancestors left behind" and they need to be treasured and protected.
Department of Conservation ranger Erana Stevens says this is one of the first lead poisoning cases she has heard of in the King Country and people need to be aware of lead on their property which could pose a risk for New Zealand natives.
"When the Kākā were out in the bush and the lead was in town it wasn't an issue so much, but now we're seeing the birds coming into an urbanised environment that's where we're starting to get the rub."
Vets at Wildbase treat around 105 native birds for lead poisoning every year.
Wildlife technician Pauline Nijman says if a bird will let you pick it up - something's wrong and you should take it to a vet immediately.
