Volunteers rally to aid of endangered species

WING IT: Whio releases have boosted the native duck's population in the Manganui-o-te-Ao River.

By Dave Scoullar

It's fashionable to breast-beat about preserving many of our endangered birds and animals. And while it does feel that the forces against some indigenous species are relentless, there are good news stories out there in New Zealand and abroad.

In a lot of cases the work of volunteers are making a huge difference. An example is the many volunteers who help the Department of Conservation by monitoring traplines in national and forest parks and reserves.

On the New Zealand scene, there are multiple reasons to be more optimistic. DOC says 2017 was a very successful year for the Whio Hardening Facility at the Tongariro National Trout Centre with 43 of these nationally vulnerable birds passing through the creche before being released on central North Island rivers including the Manganui-o-te Ao.

The release of 50 North Island robins at Mt Taranaki has marked the end of a 110-year absence. Twenty pateke/brown teal were released onto Resolution Island/Mauikatau in Fiordland.

The project returned one of the world's rarest waterfowl to Dusky Sound after an absence of over a century. Kaka have made an extraordinary comeback in a Fiordland forest since pest control started just over a decade ago. And a five-year study of kaka nesting at Lake Paringa in South Westland show 30 times as many chicks survived in the area.

The Takahe Recovery Programme celebrated its best breeding season. For the third year running takahe chicks have been produced in record numbers, both in the wild and predator-controlled sanctuaries. The reclusive rock wren are also showing very high nesting success.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry credits using 1080 to kill predators for the successful breeding results for several of our most vulnerable native birds.

We also have reasons to celebrate on the international scene. After being wiped out 300 years ago, beavers have been officially reintroduced to Scotland. The beaver has been formally designated a native British species after pilot projects, illegal releases and escapes led to around 250 living in rivers and lochs across the Highlands.

In Norway, the government scrapped plans to cull two-thirds of the country's wolf population. The cull was intended to protect sheep flocks but was opposed by thousands of people across the world.

China, which up until now had been one of the world's biggest legal ivory markets, has announced it will stop all processing and sales by the end of 2017. Wildlife charities hope this will help tackle elephant poaching in Africa. Also in China, giant panda populations have improved enough that the iconic animals are no longer considered endangered.

In Borneo, 250 orang-utans have been released into safe, secure forests. Most were rescued orphans who were rehabilitated over many years. Due to a lack of available forest they had been forced to remain in cages and wait to be released.

In the Indonesian part of Borneo, researchers celebrated the first live sighting of a Sumatran rhino since it was thought to be extinct there. This is also the first physical contact with the species in the area for over 40 years and is a major milestone for rhino conservation in Indonesia.

A wild tiger census in India showed a promising increase in population numbers of 2226, up from 1411 in 2007, and mostly in protected areas.

In the US, after three decades of steady recovery, the number of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem means the species could be removed from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

Dave Scoullar is a tramper, conservationist and member of the Te Araroa Whanganui Trust.