The 3,000km Te Araroa trail, which spans the length of New Zealand, attracts walkers from all over the country and, until recently, the world. A growing network of Trail Angels are taking in weary travellers and giving them a taste of Kiwi hospitality. “I guess there will be some different approaches out there. Some people … Read more
His commitment to kākāpō and takahē recovery is unrivalled, and it’s turned him into a bit of a social media star. Michelle Langstone talks to DOC science advisor Dr Andrew Digby on changing careers, his love for Twitter, and what it really takes to protect one of New Zealand’s most beloved birds. I meet Andrew … Read more
Himalayan tahr were introduced to New Zealand more than a century ago for sport, and they remain a popular target for hunters today. But hunting hasn’t stopped tahr numbers ballooning to an estimated 35,000 on public conservation land – far too many for the fragile ecosystem to take, writes DOC’s threatened species ambassador, Erica Wilkinson. … Read more
New Zealand has erected statues and carried out elaborate tributes for a ragtag collection of fools and racists. Hayden Donnell asks why we haven’t we memorialised one of our greatest residents, Nigel the gannet. To give and not expect return, that is what lies at the heart of love – Oscar Wilde Mana Island is … Read more
A fringe political party is hoping for better returns in 2020 after adding a high profile independent lawyer as co-leader. Alex Braae reports. A courtroom champion of stopping 1080 drops and promoting medicinal cannabis rights is turning her attention to parliament. Independent lawyer Sue Grey gained national profile through cases like the Brook Valley brodifacoum … Read more
Banning 1080 would lead to the annihilation of nearly all New Zealand’s native land animals and birds, writes Forest & Bird’s Kevin Hague. Is this really what our leading animal welfare organisation wants? On Monday morning the SPCA posted an article in which they called for a ban on 1080, suggested that introduced predators could … Read more
Dragon tears, meteorites, or just plain shit – ambergris is an olfactory miracle of the deep. Sought after for thousands of years, and worth upwards of $10,000/kg today, ambergris washes up on beaches across New Zealand all year long. Don Rowe goes looking for it. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine under the title … Read more
Since 2016, the Department of Conservation (DOC) has partnered with Kiwibank to develop the conservation dog programme and, by proxy, raise the profile of conservation as a whole. Don Rowe goes to visit these hard-working canines to find out what it takes to be a DOC dog. The egg of a common skink is about the … Read more
Misleading remarks in the media erode public confidence in a pest-control tool we urgently need to save species, writes Nicola Toki, the threatened species ambassador for the Department of Conservation. Last Thursday night, Newshub led the 6pm news with a report about 75 kilograms of 1080 pellets being dumped and buried by a contractor to … Read more
The idea that New Zealand’s threatened species can somehow safely ‘co-exist’ with the onslaught of introduced predators is irresponsible and untrue, writes the Department of Conservation’s Nicola Toki. New Zealand is facing a biodiversity crisis. With more than 4000 species in trouble, some scientists have given us the dubious honour of the country with the … Read more
As New Zealanders rally our collective efforts in the pursuit of the ‘crazy and ambitious’ goal of a Predator Free New Zealand by 2050, we mustn’t lose our hearts, writes Nicola Toki. In 2003, freshly minted with a Zoology degree, I began my first job with the Department of Conservation. It only took a couple … Read more
New Zealand has a long history of introducing foreign insect predators to control crop pests and weeds. How risky is that? Thanks to a lack of long-term monitoring of our native insect populations, nobody really knows, explains the University of Auckland’s Margaret Stanley. “Is there any evidence that an introduced insect, other than a social … Read more
If our native bird species could text the New Zealand public and let us know how they’re doing, what would they say? Forest & Bird’s Kimberley Collins decodes the stats from a new report. Yesterday the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released a new report on the “desperate situation” our native birds face. Because I … Read more
If Māui dolphins are a Threatened Species priority, why won’t the government act to stop their extinction, asks the WWF New Zealand’s David Tong. Kiwi, kakapo, Māui dolphins and white sharks all feature on a list of 150 priority species in a new draft Threatened Species Strategy that Minister of Conservation Maggie Barry launched earlier … Read more
The idea that we hold the atmosphere around us in trust, with a duty to protect it for future generations, is taking hold. And the debate is drawing on everything from an 18th century English jurist to contemporary activism by US peoples of colour, writes Claire Browning. Nobody owns the sky, but all of our lives depend … Read more
New Zealanders celebrated the government’s ambitious goal to completely eradicate possums, rats and stoats by 2050 – but according to some scientists, the plan is ill-conceived and unlikely to succeed. Ahead of a major conference on the future of New Zealand biodiversity, Dr Jamie Steer argues that Predator Free 2050 needs an urgent rethink. Last … Read more
As visitor arrivals reach unprecedented levels and our environment and infrastructure buckle beneath the pressure, Don Rowe argues that it’s time tourists paid their fair share. New Zealand has the highest rate of threatened species in the world. Birds, dolphins, bats – you name a family, we’ve got a species on the precipice of extinction. Our rivers … Read more