Emma Naylor and Brenna Bird with their doggy volunteers doing pest trapping at Taupō's Spa Park.
Emma Naylor and Brenna Bird with their doggy volunteers doing pest trapping at Taupō's Spa Park.
Taupō District Council’s pest trapping programme has captured 332 pests since its establishment, proving that native birds are thriving in their habitat at Spa Park.
The council is now looking for community volunteers to take the reins and lead the project.
Pest control experts from Call of the Wild and council staff set up a trapping line early this year and out of the 332 animals they caught, there were 40 possums and 217 rats.
The council’s district ecological ranger Brenna Bird said controlling predators helps the ecosystem by reducing numbers of invasive species that damage native wildlife.
“Rats, hedgehogs, and stoats can consume thousands of insects, eggs, and birds a year. Possums strip the trees of their leaves and can eventually kill them.
“We want to protect regenerating native trees and provide safe habitats for our native wildlife.”
Tūī are one of the native bird species that have surged in numbers in the capital. Photo / Judi Lapsley Miller
Environmental adviser Emma Naylor said all traps at Spa Park are mechanical and use non-toxic bait.
“All our traps are National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) certified, so fully humane. We don’t use any poisons, since this is a park where dogs and kids can roam.
“The programme is working really well - we’re seeing and hearing more tūī, korimako (bellbird), pōpokotea (whitehead), riroriro (grey warbler) and pīpīwharauroa (shining cuckoo).
“Miromiro (tomtits) have also been spotted here. They are very vulnerable to introduced predators, so this is an indicator of how successful the trapping has been.”
Brenna and Emma sometimes bring extra volunteers on their trap run: Tahi, a labrador, and ex-pound dog Baxter, who help them by indicating areas where predators are foraging, so the team can set traps in more efficient places.
The duo ask the public to leave traps alone and call children and dogs away from them if seen. They check the traps weekly and have a “good idea” of what’s happening.
“We keep traps away from the main areas where people walk, as there may be dead pests nearby, which help attract more pests to the traps.
“We have found some traps thrown down a bank, which was a real bummer. And sometimes kids will poke sticks in them to try to set them off or put their hands in, which isn’t safe.”
The team are looking for community volunteers to take the reins and lead this project in the future.
“The project has been successful to date, but we want community support to keep it going,” Naylor said.
“It’s not a big time commitment, it could be a day a week or once a month. If we all pitch in, we can make a real difference.”
