Kaitlyn Ihly, Kia Kaha, Kea (ANIMAL 2025)

Much like the flightless Kiwi, Kea are an icon of the outdoors in New Zealand. As mischievous as they are majestic, the Kea is the world's only alpine parrot, and can often be found causing trouble at altitude on the South Island. Something many people don't realize is that there are estimated to be less than 5,000 Kea left compared to about 68,000 Kiwi. Kiwi encounters are more uncommon because they are shy and nocturnal, while Kea are highly sociable and will actively seek out humans. Some of my favorite experiences out in the bush involve interacting with and photographing Kea, including this encounter when they took it in turns to distract me by posing for photos while their mates attempted to steal my snacks from my backpack.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.