HLM – Chapter 987 The Parrots Crown Themselves King

Wang Bo drove to the ranch. Peterson handed him a pair of binoculars and said, “Look straight ahead. There’s a flock of birds—that’s KEA.”

“They’re called ‘sheep-eating parrots,’ so why do you call them KEA?”

“Because that’s what they’re called, and it’s easier for us to say it that way.”

Looking through the binoculars, Wang Bo first saw a small flock of Romney sheep.

Their wool was pure white, looking very clean, unlike the dirty sheep raised on other ranches. They were visually pleasing to the eye.

But a few of the sheep were in poor condition. Their backs were covered in fresh blood, their white coats stained red. These sheep paced anxiously, and the injured ones kept letting out painful bleats.

As Wang Bo moved the binoculars, a large bird suddenly lunged out from behind one of the sheep, startling him.

The bird was about half a meter long, a large creature with olive-green feathers edged in black. The feathers on its head and neck were yellowish-green with dark radiating stripes. Its chest and belly were light brown-green, and the lower part of its back was reddish-orange. Its beak was long, slender, and curved, gray-brown in color. Its eyes were dark brown, giving it a domineering appearance.

The bird flapped its wings and landed on the back of a Romney sheep. Its two talons, like iron hooks, immediately dug into the sheep’s back, drawing blood!

This was the sheep-eating parrot, and its actions explained its name perfectly.

“See that? That’s the annoying KEA. They often attack flocks, jumping onto the sheep’s backs, tearing the skin, and pecking at the flesh. They always make docile sheep panic and become agitated,” Peterson said.

After attacking the Romney sheep, the parrot opened its long beak and let out a few sharp cries. But from this distance, Wang Bo couldn’t make out whether it really sounded like it was saying “K-E-A.”

A few more sheep-eating parrots appeared afterward. They chased the sheep not by flying, but by hopping on their legs, their movements comically clown-like as they bounced after the flock.

Though their movements were amusing, their temperament was not. When they caught up to a sheep, they would peck or claw it. They were strong, and just a few hits could tear through the sheep’s skin.

The Romney sheep were docile and didn’t resist, only trying to avoid them.

“In the mountains, when there’s no tiger, the monkeys call themselves king,” Wang Bo thought. The sheep-eating parrots probably believed themselves very powerful. They chased creatures dozens of times their size with brazen arrogance.

Seeing his precious sheep being bullied like this made Wang Bo furious.

But cuteness is justice. Despite their domineering behavior, the birds were undeniably beautiful. Their teal-green feathers were rare among birds.

Wang Bo hesitated a moment and asked, “So what do you usually do with these birds? Kill them? Drive them away?”

Peterson said, “It’s not easy. First, we can’t drive them away. In winter, food is scarce, and we have so many sheep—they’ll definitely want to stay.

“Killing them isn’t ideal either. They’re a species considered vulnerable. New Zealand has foundations dedicated to protecting them, and people like KEA. Many New Zealanders even plant vegetation in their gardens to attract them.”

The sheep-eating parrots had once been labeled pests and faced heavy extermination, especially from ranchers. Peterson told Wang Bo that humans had killed at least 150,000 of them. Later, wildlife experts realized that this could upset the ecological balance.

By 1986, New Zealand passed laws to protect the sheep-eating parrots. At that time, only about 3,000 of these birds remained nationwide.

The law didn’t criminalize killing KEA entirely. Commercial hunting or recreational hunting was forbidden, but if a KEA harmed sheep, it could be killed.

In Wang Bo’s case, killing a sheep-eating parrot wasn’t illegal.

But the problem was that a large flock had come to Sunset Ranch. Peterson showed Wang Bo at least a hundred parrots of various sizes brazenly causing trouble.

Hunting hundreds of sheep-eating parrots would not only weigh on Wang Bo’s conscience but, if exposed, would invite trouble from the KEA protection societies alone.

These parrots weren’t naturally sheep killers. They could only peck at the flesh and fat, causing injury rather than death.

Most of the time, KEA feed on leaves, fruits, berries, roots, vegetation, nectar, insects, worms, carrion, camp garbage, and human-provided food.

In spring, they dig up plants on the mountains and search snow edges and crevices for new sprouts or small insects.

In summer, they forage for fruits, berries, seeds, and flowers among shrubs or low trees.

In autumn, they stay mostly in beech forests, eating buds, leaves, and nuts.

But winter is harsh, with little food available. Except for those in tourist areas fed by visitors, most search for animal carcasses, digging out internal organs and fat.

It’s in winter that they most like to attack sheep. In spring, summer, and autumn, food is available, so they rarely do this. Essentially, attacking sheep is their only food source in winter.

Peterson, an experienced cowboy, had ideas on how to deal with them.

“Boss, do you know these parrots aren’t invincible? They have natural enemies. To drive them away, you need to rely on their predators.

“Our ranch has many possums, one of the KEA’s enemies. They can’t harm adult birds but can attack chicks, and possums love stealing KEA eggs.

“KEA are smart. When they realize their young are in danger, they’ll leave voluntarily.”

Wang Bo looked at him. “So we’re supposed to breed possums? Don’t you think our ranch already has too many possums?”

“No, we should cultivate stoats. They’re the ones that really love hunting KEA chicks.”

Wang Bo thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, “No, I have a better idea.”