The Blue-Lorikeet (Vini peruviana) is seeing its population decline, with extinctions having occurred on islands in its range. Introduced predators such as ship rats and domestic cats are threatening their numbers. In addition, predicted increased storm severity due to climate change and the cumulative effects of breeding failures could accelerate its extinction.

The World Parrot Trust is helping to secure a future for Blue Lorikeets. In 2010, in collaboration with the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust and the University of Leeds, the WPT funded a survey on the island of Aitutaki to determine the extent of Cyclone Pat’s impact on the Blue Lorikeet’s numbers. The study found that the storm caused the loss of half the island’s population, leaving an estimated 1448 birds. The event changed the demographics of this group, as virtually all of the juvenile birds of the breeding season were lost.

In 2023, the World Parrot Trust in partnership with two local agencies, the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust and Te Ipukarea Society, began a project funded by the Pacific Development and Conservation Trust aimed at increasing awareness about the risk of ship rats to the Aitutaki population and promoting the protection of nests. The same project seeks to estimate Blue Lorikeet numbers on the island.