The current round of Predator Free Backyard Communities funding is open. Communities wanting to become predator free can now apply for funding that will support trapping in their backyards.  Image credit: Predator Free Opawaho. To be eligible … [Read More...] about Predator Free Backyards funding is now open

Everyone knows about tuatara – right? Most New Zealanders know that our tuatara was around in dinosaur times and out-survived all the dinosaur ‘big names’ like Tyrannosaurus Rex. And we all know what a tuatara looks like. But how much do you actually … [Read More...] about Getting to know our largest reptile

Rat-trapping started early in Aotearoa’s history. The Polynesian ancestors of Māori brought the kiore across the Pacific in their voyaging waka, probably around the 13th Century AD and early Māori developed several types of ingenious rat traps to … [Read More...] about Rat-trapping has long history in Aotearoa

We New Zealanders love our tūī. Maybe its their feisty, humorous territorial antics. Or maybe it’s the melodious calls interspersed with those ridiculous ‘snorts’. Perhaps its the iridescent black/green/blue/purple of their feathers. Tūī: Matt … [Read More...] about Feisty, melodious tūī is a welcome garden visitor

What do you reckon is the most bizarre, most ingenious of all the weird creatures on Aotearoa’s ‘Ark that Evolution Forgot’? There are plenty to choose from, but my nomination would be ngaokeoke – the peripatus. Here are some of my reasons … [Read More...] about Peripatus is a sharp-shooting ‘living fossil’