Parrot Robs Tourist In New Zealand

Attention bird watchers: A kea parrot is on the loose in New Zealand. The bird is described by police as colorful, short and possibly dangerous. The parrot is wanted for stealing $1100 from a tourist.

According to the Telegraph, a former Royal Navy employee who was vacationing in New Zealand is claiming that a kea parrot stole $1100 from his camper van. Peter Leach says that he was taken pictures at a rest area along State Highway 73 when a parrot flew into the window of his van and took $1100.

Now, Leach didn’t see the bird in the act but a Canadian couple did witness the robbery.

Leach said:

“A Canadian couple walked by and said, ‘We’ve just seen that bird take something out of your van.’ It took all the money I had. I was left with $40 in my pocket.”

Leach said that he reported the incident to police. Unfortunately, the officers said that there wasn’t much they could do to retrieve the cash.

Leach said:

“The officer was very serious for the first few questions … Then he said, ‘Do you mind if I just stop to laugh?’ I suppose I can’t blame him.”

The Hindustan Times reports that this isn’t the first time that a kea parrot has been wanted by the law. A few years ago, a kea parrot stole a tourist’s passport. The zoologist Mark Cawardine also says that the “devilish mountain parrot” is feared by rental car companies. The bird has been blamed for vandalizing cars and stripping the rubber from windshield wipers.