Pete Peeti flicks off the headlights, cuts the ignition and lets his truck roll quietly down a bush track, deep in the heart of New Zealand’s North Island. Twilight is slipping into night and rain is falling in thick drapes. “Close your door quietly when you get out,” Peeti says. He slings his gun over […]
Tag: new zealand
Cats are eating NZ’s critically endangered bats
New research by Department of Conservation staff confirms what has long been suspected—feral and domestic cats are repeatedly hunting and eating New Zealand’s native bats, or pekapeka. In a recently published research paper in the NZ Journal of Zoology, DOC Science Advisor Dr. Kerry Borkin examined the gut contents of a feral cat trapped in […]
A third of Wellington’s kākā parrot chicks found to have lead in their blood
Lead has been detected in nesting native kākā chicks in Wellington, but unusually, the birds look to have developed a tolerance to the toxin, a study has found. Kākā are a noisy, smart parrot, with bright green plumage and blood red patches under their wings and chest. They are particularly animated at dawn and dusk, […]
New Zealand’s conservationists to eradicate predators like possums, rats, feral cats, and hedgehogs from Stewart Island
Conservationists in New Zealand are starting the biggest campaign in history to rid a populated island of imported predators. The conservation organization Predator Free Rakiura and the crown research center Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research have agreed to a four-year, $2.8 million partnership to eradicate predators like possums, rats, feral cats, and hedgehogs. The project will also […]
In the last month more than 500 dead little blue penguins have washed ashore in New Zealand
The penguins are arranged in neat, precisely spaced rows, their wings spread and their bright blue plumage faded by the sand. There are a total of 183, which were meticulously collected by locals, placed out, and photographed for further research. The birds were discovered last week at Ninety Mile Beach, the latest in a long […]
Commercial Fishers Kill Sharks to Retrieve $1 Hooks in New Zealand, Report Finds
Documents collected via the Official Information Act in New Zealand show that commercial fishers in the area have been killing or injuring sharks to retrieve their fishing gear, including hooks that cost as little as $1. The documents come from government observers who worked to oversee commercial longline fleets in the country from 2016 to […]
Feral cats are killing millions of birds each year. Should they be culled?
Cats have long held a special place in the life of ex-breeder and conservationist, Julie Boyd, providing colour and companionship, as well as being keen rodent hunters. On her sprawling rural New Zealand property in the upper North Island town of Kaipara Flats, the cats roam free. “I have an elderly cat- Padme – who […]
Large pod of whales stranded across almost two miles of beach in South Island
Last week, around 30 pilot whales died in New Zealand’s “death trap” following mass beaching in a region known for whale deaths. A pod of around 30 whales was discovered washed up on the beach, stretching for over two kilometres. Mammal strandings are common at the Farewell Spit beach in northern New Zealand’s South Island. […]