The kea is the world’s only species of alpine parrot and is endemic to the mountains of New Zealand’s South Island. Kea are currently listed as Nationally Endangered under the New Zealand Threat Classification System and Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The wild population is estimated to be between 3000 and 7000 birds. They are recognized as some of the most intelligent birds on our planet – a trait that helps them to survive in harsh alpine conditions. “A memorable encounter with a kea is a rite of passage in the New Zealand backcountry. As I learned during my four and a half years in New Zealand and dozens of trips into the backcountry, kea have an insatiable and contagious curiosity for the world around them. As I set up my tent on a mountain ridge overlooking New Zealand’s tallest mountain, Aoraki Mt Cook, a circus of four kea approached me. The exhaustion that I felt after hours of hiking instantly disappeared. I grabbed my camera as I knew from many previous encounters that the...