Predator professionals: the next generation
On a fine day, views along The Old Ghost Road stretch across the winding Mokihinui River and over alpine vistas, valleys of tussock and dense…
Predator Free Backyards funding is now open
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…
Maukahuka Pest Free Auckland Island: Will it work?
This week marks the publication of the Maukahuka Pest Free Auckland Island project report on the technical feasibility of eradicating pigs, cats and mice from…
Bats influenced by rainfall when visiting unique ‘wood rose’
Short-tailed bats are the main pollinators of New Zealand’s only fully parasitic flowering plant – the wood rose (Dactylanthus taylorii), known to Māori as te…
Getting to know our largest reptile
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’…
Breeding wrybills face multiple challenges
Wrybills, the little shore birds with a bend in their beak, are only found in New Zealand. They breed on the South Island’s braided rivers…
Rat-trapping has a long history in Aotearoa
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…
Predator pitfalls for live-trapped lizards
A common way to monitor what insects or lizards are around, is to use a live-capture pitfall trap which skinks, geckos and ground-based insects then…
Feisty, melodious tūī is a welcome garden visitor
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…
Sheep, beef farms have significant conservation potential
Productive land such as farms, horticulture and lifestyle blocks make up 60% of the land area in New Zealand and often contains native vegetation. Such…
Waikato pest distribution, detectability studied
A recent study by Brandon Breedt and Carolyn King provides the first estimates of the proportion of the Waikato Region occupied by each of the…
7 surprising facts about hedgehogs
Hedgehogs were first introduced in New Zealand in the 1870s to make British settlers feel more at home. Now, 150 years later, the impact hedgehogs…
A glimpse of the social life of Otago skinks
Researchers have recently been studying the social life of our native skinks – and yes, skinks really do have a social network. Who would have…
Rare alpine seabird is ‘one of a kind’
The Hutton’s shearwater/Kaikōura tītī (Puffinus huttoni) is the only seabird in the world that breeds in an alpine environment, with breeding colonies in the Seaward…
Researchers evaluate what pāteke need for successful reintroduction
Pāteke/brown teal are mainly nocturnal, small dabbling ducks found only in New Zealand. They once inhabited a wide range of habitats including wet forests, swamps,…
