New podiTRAP a long time in the making
Inventing a new kind of trap can be a slow kind of process. Sometimes you don’t even know you’re on that journey until you’re well…
Rat bait resistance – should we be worried?
Anticoagulant poisons are commonly used to kill rats in New Zealand and around the world. But at least 18 countries in Europe, America and Asia…
Kiwibank Predator Free Schools announced
Predator Free New Zealand Trust has selected the ten schools that will take part in the inaugural Kiwibank Predator Free Schools programme. Over 75 schools…
Possums sorted – look out Omaui rats
A few years back, John Collins of Omaui got sick of shooting possums every night. He decided more needed to be done. Omaui is a…
Narrow escape makes horror reading
It could have been so much worse… red foxes, Patagonian foxes, mongooses (or should that be mongeese?) – even badgers were proposed as a solution…
Curious Minds project lets kids keep tabs on their tabbies
The secret lives of Taranaki’s pet cats are currently being revealed – thanks to project funding from Curious Minds which has enabled the purchase of…
Secret life of urban rats revealed
Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) and black rats (also known as ship rats), (Rattus rattus), are among the most prolific and widespread urban pest species in…
Predator proof nestboxes more than a pipe dream
Kathryn Marshall, helped by a team of Waimea Menz Shed volunteers, with some expert advice from ornithologist Peter Gaze, has designed and tested predator proof…
Capturing the cryptic – finding better ways to detect stoats
When stoats were recently captured on video raiding the spring nests of rock wren, yet tracking tunnels failed to detect their presence, scientists became concerned…
Wild beauty of Matukituki Valley continues to inspire
The beautiful, remote Matukituki Valley is located between Mt Aspiring National Park and Lake Wanaka. It’s mossy beech forests, pristine glaciers, alpine plants and birdlife…
Book: The Dotterels’ Last Stand
The Dotterels’ Last Stand by Sue Newman, beautifully illustrated by Paul A. Willis is a realistic and ‘almost true’ story of the challenges dotterels face…
Not just mouse-munchers – the diet of weasels revealed
Stoats tend to vie with rats for the position of Conservation Public Enemy No. 1 – but what do we know about the stoat’s smaller…
Antipodes Island – mouse free and back on course
Over a year has gone by. The mice are gone (although final proof won’t come until a revisit in 2018). On Antipodes Island, 760km southeast…
What next for rats and mice?
Rats and mice aren’t just our problem. They’re some of the most widespread and damaging invasive alien species on islands globally. A team of scientists…
Kiwibank Predator Free Goes Bananas in Patumahoe
A banana impersonated a rat and got mashed at a recent school assembly at Patumahoe – and the pupils along with many of their parents…
