Predator Free NZ

Native wildlife

Researchers tackle challenge of monitoring rūrū

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The rūrū is Aotearoa’s last remaining native owl. It’s not considered a threatened species. In fact, it’s reasonably common and widespread, especially in forested parts of the North Island and western South Island. But rūrū do tend to nest in tree cavities, which puts females at risk from introduced … [Read more...] about Researchers tackle challenge of monitoring rūrū

‘Intractable species’ prove a challenge for conservation

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Why are some native species so much harder to save? Kelly Hare et al have called them the ‘intractable species’ and investigate why they continue to flounder even with rigorous conservation efforts in some cases. Female hihi. Hihi struggle to find enough food, even in sanctuaries and are named … [Read more...] about ‘Intractable species’ prove a challenge for conservation

Identifying impediments to PF goals

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Achieving Predator Free 2050 goals will take more than just a scaling-up of eradication efforts according to researchers Duane Peltzer et al from Landcare Research (Lincoln) and the University of Canterbury. They look beyond economic and technological feasibility to identify the key impediments we … [Read more...] about Identifying impediments to PF goals

Researchers surprised by petrel numbers on ‘refuge’ islands

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A survey of 71 islands in southern Fiordland in the summer of 2017, by researchers from Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the Department of Conservation, found forty breeding colonies of three petrel species spread across 35 of those 71 islands, according to a report just published in … [Read more...] about Researchers surprised by petrel numbers on ‘refuge’ islands

Video camera study reveals rare birds in ruru diet

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The ruru (morepork) is a predator – but it’s certainly not on the ‘predator-free’ hit list. Those slots are just for introduced mammal predators which haven’t co-evolved with our vulnerable native species. Ruru do prey on other native wildlife however, including endangered species, as a recent study … [Read more...] about Video camera study reveals rare birds in ruru diet

Kaikoura red-billed gull study reveals predator impacts over 52 years

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If you park up at the beach with a feed of fish and chips it can seem like red-billed gulls are common and thriving. But 52 years’ worth of observations and monitoring data from New Zealand’s biggest gull breeding colony on the Kaikoura Peninsula tells a somewhat different story. Mammal predators … [Read more...] about Kaikoura red-billed gull study reveals predator impacts over 52 years

Future conservation role possible for urban lizard gardens

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City dwellers and urban lizard gardens could play a significant role in future skink and gecko conservation in New Zealand, according to research just published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning. Turning part of your garden into some desirable reptile real estate could really make a … [Read more...] about Future conservation role possible for urban lizard gardens

Video logger films at-sea foraging of yellow-eyed penguin

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A male yellow-eyed penguin from Boulder Beach on the Otago Peninsula, recently became a video star for researchers Thomas Mattern, Michael McPherson, Ursula Ellenberg, Yolanda van Heezik and Philipp Seddon, who were investigating the use of high definition video loggers to study marine wildlife. … [Read more...] about Video logger films at-sea foraging of yellow-eyed penguin

DOC and volunteers count kiwi on Tiritiri Matangi

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The little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii) was probably the most common kiwi species in Aotearoa/New Zealand in the mid-1800s. Now it's our second rarest kiwi of the 5 kiwi species. Numbers plummeted last century and it had almost disappeared from the mainland by the mid-1900s. Then 5 birds were … [Read more...] about DOC and volunteers count kiwi on Tiritiri Matangi