Category: Environment

Source: Department of Conservation

Date:  04 October 2024

The red alert is in place until 11 pm Friday, with continued rain, surface flooding and rising waters expected into the weekend.

In Dunedin, Tunnel Beach Walk is currently closed as there have been several slips on the track and it is unsafe for visitors. Dunedin City Council has closed the carpark at the top of the track.

Visitors are reminded to respect closures for their own safety.

“It’s too early for us to assess the extent of the damage as we need to wait until the weather settles before we can inspect tracks,” says Southern South Island Director of Operations, Aaron Fleming. “However, it is likely that other tracks are damaged, and some may not be safe to use.”

“We’re encouraging everyone to put safety first and consider postponing plans that involve walking, tramping, hunting or other outdoor activities in weather-affected areas. Hut/DOC accommodation bookings can be transferred to a later date.

“With rain still falling we could be in for more slips and hazards as the situation unfolds.”

To report damage on public conservation land visit: Report damage on public conservation land

Or to report urgent safety concerns or facility damage call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).

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Source: Department of Conservation

Date:  04 October 2024

The Department of Conservation (DOC) engaged Forest 360 to harvest pines which are creating a seed source of wilding pine at the end of Kashmir Rd. Wilding pines are invasive weeds which threaten to permanently alter our unique New Zealand landscapes.

Forest 360 will remove the pines, allowing native forest to regenerate and will continue to undertake pest plant and animal control in the area for five years after harvesting.

Kelly Hancock, Acting Operations Manager for DOC Manawatu, says closing access is a last resort, but several close calls from people wandering into dangerous situations have left DOC with no other options.

“Initially we kept the road open to the public during weekends, so hunters and trampers could access the local hut and track network.

“Unfortunately there have been multiple incidents, with logging trucks coming across vehicles on the road unexpectedly, hunters popping up next to felling machines while they are operating, and quite a bit of theft and vandalism occurring during weekends.”

Kelly says it is great to see the local community so keen to get into the Ruahine Forest Park and make the most of the opportunities on our doorstep, but it is not safe for people to be driving or walking through an area being actively logged.

“This is really heavy-duty machinery, and an incident could lead to someone being seriously hurt. If people are going to ignore the signs and barriers and venture into the area outside of the agreed access times, we have no choice but to close the area to all public access.

“We must ensure public safety above all else, so it really leaves us with no option but to completely close the road to the public while the pines are being harvested.”

There are several other ways to access the forest park nearby, such as Mill Rd.

Kashmir Rd will reopen to the public for two weeks over the Christmas/New Year period, while Forest 360 staff and contractors take a well-earned break. It will be closed again from 5 January until harvest is completed in May or June 2025.

Without the risk of public venturing into the area over the weekend, forestry operations will be able to move to six days per week so the harvest may be able to be completed sooner.

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Source: Department of Conservation

Date:  04 October 2024

This evolved strategic partnership framework builds on and celebrates the respective strengths of the two organisations at the forefront of efforts to save native species and advocate for conservation and will identify new areas for collaboration. 

For more than three decades, Auckland Zoo and DOC have collaborated on recovery programmes and fieldwork for some of our country’s most threatened bird, lizard, amphibian, and invertebrate species – from kākāpō, takahē, and tara iti, to pepeketua/Archey’s frog, kapitia and cobble skinks, and our largest giant wētā, the wētāpunga.

Wētāpunga were once holding on by a thread on a lone Hauraki Gulf island. But with DOC and iwi support, a phenomenally successful breeding programme led by the Zoo has seen the release of more than 7,000 of these unique taonga onto eight pest-free islands across the upper North Island – including islands managed by DOC and mana whenua. Now self-sustaining on four Hauraki Gulf islands, these efforts have led to a positive revision of the species’ threat status.

Auckland Zoo director Kevin Buley says so many of our native species remain dependent on human care to prevent their extinction.

“Ongoing interventions such as pest control, fenced reserves, breeding programmes, animal translocations and veterinary support are the reason for their survival.

“These kinds of intensive management skills are skills that Auckland Zoo, as a modern zoo and wildlife conservation science organisation, has been perfecting for decades. So, we’re hugely proud to be able to deploy them to compliment DOC’s knowledge and experience in recovery programmes for some of our most threatened invertebrate, reptile and bird species.

“With DOC we also share wider ambitious longer-term aspirations and goals for wildlife and people. Our focus together is on creating a more sustainable future – where we all feel more part of nature than apart from nature, and where species are no longer reliant on intensive care to prevent their extinction,” says Kevin.

“In order for us all to achieve this together, we need to reexamine our relationship with te taiao – the natural environment and all the species that we share it with. An experience at the Zoo helps provide an opportunity for people to connect with nature, to take time to connect with each other, and is a small but significant first step that we can all take to help tune back in to the world around us.”

DOC Director-General Penny Nelson sees this milestone strategic partnership as a huge opportunity for conservation.

“Today’s a chance to streamline how we work together and take advantage of our respective strengths, as we look at exciting new conservation projects to take on.

“When we combine the Zoo’s expertise in breeding, rearing and specialist animal care with DOC’s knowledge and active management of wild conservation sites, we can recover species from the brink of extinction.

“We are currently working together to do that for the tara iti/New Zealand fairy tern: the most endangered bird in Aotearoa with fewer than 35 adult birds surviving today. Intensive management is needed for these birds to have a chance of long-term survival.

“For four years, Auckland Zoo has worked alongside DOC to collect, hatch and hand-rear chicks to boost the wild population. Fifteen tara iti have been safely raised and released to the wild by the Zoo so far, and last summer four incubated and Zoo-raised juveniles contributed to a record-breaking summer breeding season.

“What’s more, a large part of conservation work is advocacy – connecting people and nature. Auckland Zoo, based in the heart of our most populated city, plays a fundamental role in connecting hundreds of thousands of people annually to the unique wildlife and habitats of Aotearoa. That connection can open the door for kiwis and overseas visitors alike to valuing nature and taking action to support our taonga species,” adds Penny.

Fast facts about the Auckland Zoo and DOC partnership

• Auckland Zoo has worked with DOC on 14 national recovery programmes for threatened species – ranging from tara iti, kākāriki karaka, tuatara and wētāpunga to mokomoko (including grand skinks, Otago skinks, kapitia skinks and cobble skinks).
• More than 5000 hours a year spent by Auckland Zoo staff to breed and release endangered New Zealand animals.
  • 427 kiwi hatched at the Zoo and released to the wild as part of ONE (Operation Nest Egg).
  • 80 kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeets hatched at the Zoo and released to the wild.
  • 43 whio/blue duck and 170 pāteke/brown teal hatched at the Zoo and released to the wild.
  • 7,000+ wētāpunga bred at Zoo and released onto pest-free islands in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf and Northland’s Ipipiri islands (Bay of Islands).
  • 148 cobble skinks (rescued and Zoo-bred animals) destined for release back to safe areas on South Island’s West Coast in early 2025.
• Since Sept 2011 (the Zoo’s Aotearoa NZ Track Te Wao Nui opening); Zoo staff have worked on 55 DOC field conservation projects across Aotearoa, contributing 28,500 hours.
• Around 100 native wildlife patients each year are admitted to the Zoo’s vet hospital for specialist veterinary treatment and care.
  • Up to 10 kākāpō are treated each year as part of DOC’s Kākāpō Recovery programme.
  • Around 9 sea turtles are treated each year, primarily green sea turtles, two-thirds of which are successfully treated, rehabilitated at SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton’s and released back to the wild.

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Source: Department of Conservation

Date:  03 October 2024

Losing the juvenile female, who was born about 60 km up the Clutha River Mata-au earlier this year, is a significant setback for the local population.

DOC Murihiku Operations Manager John McCarroll says the necropsy, carried out by Massey University scientists, found the young female sea lion likely died several hours after she was shot.

“These necropsy results tell us the sea lion was alive when she was shot. She was last seen alive on Monday 16 September and was reported dead to us on the morning of Sunday 22 September.

X-ray of the sea lion showing shotgun pellets
Image: Massey University

“DOC wants to find out who has committed this atrocious act and we’re calling for anyone with information to get in touch on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).

“The New Zealand Sea Lion Trust is also offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to a successful prosecution.”

Although DOC staff are relieved to learn the sea lion did not suffer for more than a week, as initially feared, they are appalled at the extent of the painful injuries inflicted on her by the shooter, John McCarroll says.

“She appears to have been shot in the back while lying on her stomach, causing a large amount of bleeding in the abdomen and chest and damage to the lungs, liver, spleen, intestine and spine. At least 25 steel shotgun pellets were found in her body.

“Shooting a protected sea lion and leaving it to a painful death is a disgusting act and completely unacceptable.

“The loss of this juvenile female is a significant setback to the Catlins sea lion population. Sea lions restarted breeding in the Catlins back in 2006, and so far 45 have been born there, although a number of those have passed away.

“In the 2023/24 breeding season there were 13 breeding age females and 7 pups born. It takes 4 years for a female to reach breeding age. Given the low numbers, every female is extremely important to the population.”

Under the Wildlife Act, it is illegal to injure or kill protected native wildlife like sea lions and anyone who does so can face punishments of up to two years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000.

The sea lion’s mother Jade was born under a crib (bach) at Kākā Point in 2016. She was named after the late son of the bach owners.

Pakake have a threat status of “Nationally Vulnerable” and number about 12,000. About 96% of the population is found in the Subantarctic Islands and is in decline. On the Mainland, there are small but growing populations in Rakiura/Stewart Island, Murihiku/Southland, and Otago.

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Source: Department of Conservation

Date:  02 October 2024

Over the last five months, the Department of Conservation with support from Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki and Auckland Council tried multiple methods to catch this rat, which was first spotted in late April.

The rat was filmed stocking up on toxic bait over four days in August, and since 8 August there have been no further sightings on the network of cameras. Last week a DOC rodent detection dog and handler, undertook a sweep of the island with no detections – giving DOC confidence to declare the rat dead.

DOC Island Biosecurity Advisor Claire Warren says the incident response team used both standard and new tools to learn more about the rat’s location and behaviour, and to eventually kill it. A network of around 50 cameras was the key tool that led to the predator’s demise.

“We used a combination of standard trail cameras and AI cameras that gave us important and surprising information about the rat’s behaviour, routes and favourite locations.

“The cameras revealed that the rat travelled from a suspected nest site to McKenzie bay on Rangitoto Island, around 5.8 km away, which is much further than we ever expected.

“The camera network helped us conclude that there was only one rat on island, and it was instrumental in determining where to lay toxic baits,” says Claire.

Two new thermal imaging cameras, named DOC AI CAM and developed by the Cacophony Project, were a key part of the mix.

“The AI cameras sent us alerts when the rat was seen on camera. This gave us real-time information about the rat’s location and direction of travel which really helped us target it,” explains Claire.

“It is always great to have a successful end to an incursion response, as they can be very challenging and a huge threat to taonga species on these beautiful islands,” says Billy Brown, Chair of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Trust.

“Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and DOC continue to be vigilant around biosecurity risks on Te Motutapu a Taikehu and Peretū/Rangitoto, as we manage a number of endangered species, that will only thrive if we give them a safe space to live. I want to congratulate the DOC and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki team on island, along with the myriad of people who run and manage these responses, for embracing kotahitanga, as together we can eliminate these threats faster.”

Although the incident team used a variety of trap types and lures such as peanut butter, rat bedding and rat recordings, the rat did not interact with any of these human-made devices – illustrating the real challenge in keeping valuable islands and areas pest-free.

“With every incursion we have, we learn more about how to track and kill mammalian pests. When they evade all your attempts to entice them into a trap, it forces you to think laterally and innovate,” adds Claire.

The eradication is a big relief as the island is a key recovery site for one of New Zealand’s rarest birds, the tūturuatu/shore plover, with just 250 individuals remaining nationwide. A single rat could have devastated the small island population.

A range of other sea and shore birds also began their nesting season in July – eggs and chicks are easy targets for mammalian predators.

Background information

The islands of Motutapu and Rangitoto are considered pest-free following (at the time) the world’s largest pest eradication programme in 2011. They are now home to dozens of taonga species including takahē, tieke, kiwi and tuatara.

Rats are considered one of the most prolific pests in Aotearoa, feeding on the eggs and chicks of native birds, as well as competing with them for other food sources.  

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Source: Department of Conservation

Date:  01 October 2024

Breeding season for kākā is in full swing September through to April, and mated pairs will be prospecting for nesting sites. David Moss, Ranger Biodiversity, says your attic might be prime real estate for these feathered flat-hunters.

“We’ve had a few calls from people checking for rats in their attic and finding a parrot with a large beak looking back at them instead,” says David. “Rangers corralled a kākā in the attic of a house in Aro Valley last week, and we expect it won’t be the last one.

North Island kākā have a conservation status of At Risk-Recovering under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. One of the biggest threats to the kākā is loss of habitat, as they require large tracts of forest to thrive. They also nest in hollow trees, and if there are none nearby it can make unsecured attics an attractive option.

“Kākā like sheltered, enclosed spaces for their nests, so old houses with large attics are ideal, especially if there’s a hole in the roof they can squeeze through or make larger.

“They can sound a lot like rats or mice, so definitely check for birds before baiting or setting traps to avoid catching some kākā in the crossfire.”

While majestic, kākā can be very destructive and determined to find the ideal nesting place and could do serious damage to homes and especially insulation.

“Wellingtonians should check their eaves and attic to ensure there are no visitors, feathered or otherwise.”

If you suspect something is nesting in your roof, check it out sooner rather than later. If it’s rats or mice, bait and trap accordingly. But if it does turn out to be a kākā or other native bird, call 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468). 

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