Category: Trapping

Robins flourish, dawn chorus returns to the Mt Aspiring National Park | Stuff.co.nz

Over the last few months I’ve often posted about the work being done in the West Matukituki Valley [home of Aspiring Hut] in Mt Aspiring National Park.

Two of the key players are my old friends Stu and Heather Thorne, and I’m delighted here to repost an article by local journo Marjorie Cook of stuff.co.nz [who gives her blessing re this repost btw, which uses some of my images] about the great work they’re doing…

Two decades ago, Wanaka couple Stu and Heather Thorne would eat their breakfast porridge at Aspiring Hut in almost complete silence. Now, the dawn chorus is a noisy morning wake up call, with breakfast an extra rowdy affair if clownish keas decide to drop by and chew on the doormat. Birds are back in abundance, thanks to

Read More at the Source: Robins flourish, dawn chorus returns to the Mt Aspiring National Park | Stuff.co.nz

Fatal attraction: ferret stench to fight pests

 

A stoat killed by 1080 in Mt Aspiring National Park two years ago ~ photo southernlight.co.nz

New Zealand’s imported predator the stoat, is quite an amazing animal, somewhat beautiful too, until you look at it’s claws and teeth!

They have a very fast metabolism, thus needing constant snacks, and they don’t live to a ripe old age. Most stoats [less than about 20 percent] live less than one year, but adult mortality is lower and a few may reach 6-8 years of age. We’ve found that in winter their coat turns white in snowy environments.

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In summer they’re more the colour in the photos, and they can travel vast distances, even in water, and often kill for no good reason. Young females are impregnated by their fathers too, and can with-hold birthing until optimum conditions prevail.

In other words, stoats seem born to kill. Imported into New Zealand many years ago to control rabbits, it’s turned out native birds and invertebrates make for easier meals, and this is why this research below is a real break through in our attempts to rid the country of this pest…

When it comes to trapping our bird-killing pest predators, a little bit of potent ferret stench could be the missing ingredient. That’s according to a quirky experiment on a remote Hawke’s Bay farm…

Read more at the source, a NZ Herald article >>

Miramar first scene for predator free capital | NZNews | Newshub

The Wellington suburb of Miramar is the country’s movie capital, but it’ll soon have a starring role in the city’s aim to be predator-free.

An ambitious plan to make Wellington the first predator-free capital in the world has been launched by Wellington City Council, the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) and the Next Foundation.

It follows on from the Government’s lofty target of having the whole country without predators by 2050, thereby allowing native birds and lizards to thrive. How NZ’s pest cull will change the ecosystemMiramar Peninsula will be the first act, with a plan being developed to eradicate rats and stoats which will then extend to the rest of the city.

The plot doesn’t include cats and dogs however, with residents expected to be the supporting cast as responsible pet owners.

Source: Miramar first scene for predator free capital | NZNews | Newshub