NZ Bird Steals from Scottish Tourist Van!!??

From the Telegraph in London today, they have this headline: "New Zealand parrot robs tourist of £600" with these highlights: "A former Royal Navy employee was driving around the South Island of New Zealand in a campervan last week, when he stopped to take pictures of the views at Arthur's Pass. He took a picture of a kea (a species of parrot native to New Zealand) that had stopped nearby. The bird reportedly flew into the open windows of his campervan and lifted $1100 of the local currency from the dashboard inside. According to the Scottish Daily Record, Mr Leach was unaware of the theft until two fellow tourists pointed it out. He reported to incident to police, but the chances of retrieving the currency remain slim. Four years ago, another Scottish tourist in New Zealand had his passport stolen by a kea. The birds are known for their intelligence, and have also been blamed for vandalising cars. The zoologist Mark Cawardine describes them as 'a devilish mountain parrot feared by hire car companies.' "

Full story at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/9847057/New-Zealand-parrot-robs-tourist-of-600.html

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 117,631 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Here is a cute picture of a bird in New Zealand. BUT, these birds are known for their intelligence and have been blamed for vandalizing cars. Watch out while traveling in NZ!!:

Bother!!!

I watched them pull the rubber stripping out of the top air vents on a bus.

And a friend had them UNDO a zipper to the tent, go inside and UNDO the backpack and steal things. Not loads of cash though.

Raina

Yes, keas are our "bad boys". Arthur's Pass is an area particularly noted for their activities.

When we did our road trip through NZ several years ago, we watched them work several widnshield wipers on cars in a parking lot. Made a mess of it. Very naughty creatures.