Wild Land Mammals
Did you know...
that there are only two terrestrial (land-only) mammals living in Aotearoa that are native species? And that they are both pekapeka | bats?
Find new Wild Cardz on pages 15 and 17. For game play, go to kcc.org.nz/ activities.
Looking after them is a conservation priority!
Illustration: Canterbury Museum (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Bats weren’t always the only native mammals. Back in 2007, an ancient mouse-sized mammal fossil (nicknamed The Waddling Mouse) was found at St Bathans that proved that other land mammals once lived here 20 million years ago. Birds filled the gaps left by other mammals as they went extinct.
Bats are not the only mammals here though. Since humans arrived, many mammals have been introduced to the land.
The first were kurī and kiore brought by Māori from the Pacific in the 13th century. Many more were brought by European settlers from the late 1700s and especially during the 1800s. Most were brought here on purpose, but some were stowaways.
Introduced mammals have become predators and pests. They cause massive problems for native plants and animals, and their homes.
EDITOR: Rebecca Hatch
ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER: Rob Di Leva, Dileva Design
COVER: Pekapeka-tou-poto | South Island lesser short-tailed bat. Rod Morris
What about seals and sea lions?
You’ll see them on our coasts, but they are actually semi-aquatic (creatures of the sea who spend time on land). Find some tips for caring for kekeno this summer on page 14.
To join KCC and receive Wild Things, or to receive our free E-news, go to www.kcc.org.nz
PRINTING: Webstar, Auckland • ISSN 2230-2565 Copyright:
Discover more about our ancient pekapeka and our introduced mammals, and what you can do to help.
Wild Things is published by Forest & Bird, Phone 04 385 7374, Email office@forestandbird.org.nz PO Box 631, Wellington 6140.
Rāpoka | NZ sea lion. DOC
Full of Battitude
Both NZ species are micro-bats. That means they…
n are tiny in size
n have tails
n eat insects
n have bigger ears and smaller eyes
n use echolocation.
Pekapeka-tou-poto | NZ lesser short-tailed bat
I am the only remaining member of the ancient Mystacinidae family of burrowing bats. We’ve been in NZ for millions of years.
We’re called burrowing bats because we don’t only fly – we scurry around on all fours over the forest floor to hunt for insects, fruit, pollen, and nectar. We also climb up trees and along branches, and burrow into leaf litter, rotten logs, and trees to make roosts (resting places).
We can act very “un-batlike” because our wings can fold up and away in a special way (like origami), and we can then use our forearms or “elbows” as front legs.
A common name for dactylanthus is wood rose. Its te reo Māori names are pua o Te Rēinga (flower of the underworld) and waewae te atua (toes/fingers of the gods). Ngā Manu Nature Reserve
Our relationship with dactylanthus is special too. We rely on each other.
This threatened parasitic plant grows on the roots of trees on the forest floor. It puts out a musky sweet smell that attracts us to it (we have a great sense of smell). Our faces get all covered in pollen while we feast on the nectar of the flowers, and we act as its only pollinators.
Dan Riskin
The kākāpō (a weird bird in its own right) has been found to have been a pollinator of the wood rose in the past too. That’s not the only cool connection we have to kākāpō though.
We are also lek-breeders, which means we put on displays to attract a mate. While male kākāpō BOOM, our males sing and wee on themselves!
The scent of the wee can warn females if the male is a brother or cousin.
Here we are in a communal roost. Cozy! Bats are always on the move, so finding/making new roosts is something we do often, like our long-tailed friends.
Long-tailed bat in flight.
Kerry Watson
A million years ago, my ancestors probably blew in from Australia. I’m closely related to the wattledbats who live there.
I’m an amazing flyer. My long tail that connects to my wings helps me fly. I can fly at 60km/h and have a home range (area I regularly move around in) of 100km2.
Using echolocation (reflected sound to locate objects), I can swoop around in the darkness eating insects right out of the air.
A group of short-tailed bats in a communal roost tree on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island in 2019. TheyLookLikeUs
Pekapeka-tou-roa | NZ long-tailed bat
I’m incredibly small. My furry body is only about as long as your mum’s or dad’s thumb.
I’m also very rare and critically endangered. Even so, you’ll see us longtailed bats more often than short-tailed bats (look on page 17 for why).
Kirsty Myron
What’s happening?
Forest & Bird Bat Mahi
@ Tautuku Restoration Project
WHERE: The Catlins, South Otago.
WHY: Pekapeka-tou-roa are one the most vulnerable species in this area.
“We know there are significant populations of pekapeka in the Catlins, but we wondered –Are they any bats that still roost in the forests we work in?
“So, in January 2021, we brought in bat expert Jono More to help us catch and radio track bats.
“It took two weeks to catch our first bat, and it wasn’t through lack of trying. The two females we caught led us to a roost with 56 bats in it in the nearby beech forest. It was the first time roost sites had been found in that forest. We caught another juvenile male, who took us on a journey (he went all over the place!) towards another roost tree in the forest we work in. Unfortunately, his transmitter fell off before we could pinpoint the communal roost.
“We had to wait a whole year before we could try find the roost tree again, and it was really cold in early 2022, so it made it harder. We caught one juvenile male, and a young female. They took us to a communal roost and several maternity roosts (where they sleep with their babies). We can now know for
Where the bat colony was discovered in Tautuku. F. Cunninghame
One of the bats that helped us answer our question at Tautuku. Jono More
sure that there is a bat colony roosting in a small patch of trees by the river!
“We are now working on predator control as there wasn’t any happening where these bats roost, and we will keep doing monitoring for two more years to find out more about this colony.”
Francesca
Cunninghame
Project Manager
Conservation Heroes
Great work KCCer Lucia from Havelock North! She raised an amazing $1122.60 for long-tailed bats in Hawke’s Bay through a fundraiser at her school!
Polly Pekapeka was lucky enough to attend as one of her adventures. Read more on our website at kcc.org.nz/polly-pekapeka-adventures.
Note: Photos taken before glove-wearing COVID protocols started.
@ Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project
WHERE: In and around Te Hoiere | Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve.
WHY: This area is one of the last homes remaining for pekapeka-touroa in Marlborough.
“If we want to protect bats, we need to protect their habitat. That’s why our team are focused on doing weed control and predator control. We have a network of trap-lines at Pelorus Bridge that covers an area of 150ha (that’s the same as 150 rugby fields). We want to expand our network into other reserves in the Rai Valley, where we know bats like to hang out – Brown River (90ha), Carluke (7ha), and Ronga (17ha).
“We are also regenerating (bringing back) bat habitat and expanding it through doing lots of planting of native species, like on the land that was pasture at Ronga Recreation Reserve. This way, there will be lots of new roost trees for bats in the future.
“After all our bat detector work between 2018 and 2020, we have a good idea of where the bats’ summer roosts are, but we have a question too –Where do the bats go when they aren’t living in their summer roosts?
“This is something we are starting to investigate.”
Mandy Noffke Project Manager
Tautuku Restoration
Project Te Hoiere Bat Recovery Project
Here’s a bat getting fitted with a radio transmitter at Te Hoiere Project in 2019. Laura Keown
Planting at Ronga Recreation Reserve in 2022. Connor Wallace
Make a
Cat Flick Stick Toy
Cats want to hunt. It’s something their bodies just do naturally. We call it their “prey drive”. Unfortunately, one of the animals our cats are hunting are our native pekapeka.
Make your pet cat more conservation-friendly by playing with them with cat toys every day, for at least 5–10 minutes. Here’s how to make a flick stick toy:
What else helps bats best?
n Keeping your cat indoors or in a place outdoors where they can’t roam.
n Cats having high-protein diets and full tummies.
Cut a long piece of string and tie it onto your stick.
We’ve reused an old cardboard tube, but anything sticklike will do.
In 2010, one feral cat was responsible for killing 100 shorttailed bats over seven days at Mt. Ruapehu.
Attach something tempting to the end of the string for your cat to bat, claw, bite, and chase!
We went with an old sock, but you could use all sorts of things – for instance, feathers, pompoms, tassels, or small soft toys.
Make a
Cat Scrunchie (Anti-Predation
Collar)
Here’s another way to make your cat more conservationfriendly – make it a cat scrunchie! Birds look out for bright colours and patterns, as well as strange noises.
Step ➊ ➋ ➌ Put your two pieces of fabric down on a table, wrong side out. Trace around the dish, then trace around the lid. Cut out the scrunchie pieces.
Step ➍ Sew around the outside, and then sew around the inside. Use a running stitch. Don’t sew up the ends.
Step ➎ Turn the scrunchie in the right way, so the bright side of the material is now facing out.
Step ➏ Thread your cat’s collar through the cat scrunchie. Attach bell.
You’ll need:
n Two pieces of bright fabric (about 25cm by 25cm)
n Scissors
n Side dish (diameter about 19cm)
n Small lid (diameter about 7.5cm)
n Pen
n Sewing pins
n Needle and thread or sewing machine
n Cat collar with bell.
➐ Put
Step
it on your cat.
Aim
Help a bat colony to survive the year by getting rid of threats. YOU NEED Paper and pencil
How to play
n One player looks after a short-tailed bat colony. The other looks after a long-tailed bat colony. Short-tailed bats have been in New Zealand for longer, so that player goes first.
n Each player traces or draws two grids onto a piece of paper – like those on the right.
n Without letting the other player see, write each of the threats onto the left grid, one letter in each square. Threats can go horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, but cannot overlap each other.
n Take turns trying to hit each other’s threats by calling out a square on the grid (e.g. A7.)
n If the other player hits your threat, call “hit”. If they miss, call “miss”.
n Keep track of your guesses by writing H for hit or M for miss in the squares of the right grid.
n The winner is the first player to knock out all the threats to their colony on their opponent’s grid.
A B C D E F G H I
P P P P P
W W R R R C C C C
PESTS! Rat and stoat numbers are out of control – they’ll eat your bats. C C C C
CATS! A cat and her kittens are dumped in the bush reserve your bats roost in – they could find and kill the whole colony!
and illustration:
Design
Rob Di Leva. Words: Johanna Knox. With huge
Mark threats on your left grid, like this, but put them anywhere you like.
Keep track of your hits (H) and misses (M) on your right grid. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A
B
C
D
Wild
game challenge
You’ve played Wild Things board games. Now it’s your turn to make a game!
Let your imagination go WILD! We’re after games that are fun, unusual, and original. We’ll pick our favourites, work with you to make them fantastic –then print them in Wild Things! Your game must …
• be about native NZ plants, animals, or places
• have simple instructions
• be able to work across two pages of the magazine
• give players everything they need to play without looking anything up
• not need people to cut up their magazines!
Get your Wild Game Challenge in by the end of Term 4 2022. Find our email and snail mail addresses on the back cover.
R R R
ROAD! A big new road cuts through your bats’ territory – it’s dangerous for them to cross –but they need to, to look for food.
W W
WASPS! These stinging pests build a nest in the hollow tree your colony roosts in – the bats have to find a new tree.
thanks for assistance to chiropterophile (bat enthusiast) Catriona Gower
© Wild Things Issue 157, Nov 2022.
Published by Forest & Bird
Mailbox In the
Kekeno | NZ fur seal by Sophie (age 8)
Hector’s dolphins by Danni (Year 1), Lexi (Year 2), and Oscar (Year 2) from Sumner School. See more mahi from their classmates on our blog!
Orca by Oscar (age 5)
Kererū by Rio (age 7)
Great crested grebe by Xavier (age 9)
Tōrea pongo by Oscar (age 7)
© Wild Things Issue 157, Nov 2022. Published by Forest & Bird
Competition Taumāhekeheke
We think this is one of the coolest paper planes ever...
It’s called the bat plane, and it can flap as it soars through the air!
This is just the basic design.
Can you modify it to make it work even better?
Go to kcc.org.nz/competitions for instructions on making the basic bat plane and entry information.
We’re a nationwide network of young people who are protecting and restoring Aotearoa's wildlife and wild places.
n For ages 14–25 years. Led by Youth, for Youth
n Help Papatūānuku by gaining skills and experience
n Connect with like-minded people from across Aotearoa
Find out more about joining us: bit.ly/FandBYouth
Caring for kekeno through the Seal Deal
Kekeno / New Zealand fur seals are the most common seals around the coasts of Aotearoa New Zealand but are at risk from tangles with fishing gear and marine debris, as well as well-meaning members of the public. Through the Seal Deal, we can work together to take care of these fascinating mammals.
Remember
Kekeno are wild animals and will defend their territories aggressively. Their teeth can inflict serious injuries, and they carry infectious diseases.
• Always enjoy fur seals from a distance.
• Look but don’t touch.
• Keep your food for yourself.
• Take extra care if you have dogs with you.
How you can help
Many kekeno behaviours that seem unusual are completely normal, including regurgitating, sneezing and coughing, having weepy eyes, drifting in the waves, floating on their sides, and fighting. Pups also happily spend time alone while their mothers hunt for food.
But if you find a seal that is severely injured, entangled in marine debris, in an unsafe place, or being harassed by people or dogs, immediately call DOC’s HOTline.
On the beach
Although kekeno are marine mammals, they spend much of their time on land in rookeries (breeding grounds) and haul-outs (rest areas).
The breeding season is a busy time for both males and females. Dominant bulls rule the rookeries, defending their territories and fighting off challengers. Meanwhile, each female delivers and suckles one pup. While the young seals play around the shoreline, their mothers mate to become pregnant with next season’s pups, before disappearing for days at a time in search of food.
Popoiangore | Leopard seal | Hydrurga lepronyx
Rarity: 1 (uncommon)
Number of babies in a year: 1 pup
Lifespan: About 26 years
Recently reclassified as a resident native species (which means they have settled here naturally). Not all adults have a pup each year – only about 50–60% will. They are the only seals known to regularly hunt warmblooded prey (including other seals). The only known predators of leopard seals are sharks and killer whales.
Ihu koropuku | Southern elephant seal | Mirounga leonina
Rarity: 3 (declining)
Number of babies in a year: 1 pup
Lifespan: About 21 years
Are residents of our subantarctic islands, but occassionally come to the mainland. The largest species of seal in the world.
They nearly went extinct in the 19th century due to seal hunting.
Kekeno | NZ fur seal | Arctocephalus forsteri
Rarity: 2 (increasing)
Number of babies in a year: 1 pup
Lifespan: About 15 years
Our most commonly seen marine mammal and a protected species. They were on the brink of extinction because of seal hunting in the 1700s and 1800s. Human activities cause the most problems for kekeno, including fishing, pollution, dog walking, oil spills, and tourism.
Rāpoka | NZ sea lion/Hooker’s
| Phocarctos hookeri
4 (vunerable)
Number of babies in a year: 1 pup
Lifespan: Up to 23 years
Have been protected in some way since 1893 when sealing was banned in NZ. If you see one, you’re seeing one of the rarest sea lions in the world! When they were hunted in the 1800s, it took only 24 years before there were not enough sea lions left to keep the trade going.
Luc Hoogenstein
Kimberley Collins
Craig McKenzie
Kimberley Collins
Rāpoka
Hooker's sea lion. David Hallett
Pekapeka-tou-poto | Lesser short-tailed bat | Mystacina tuberculata
Rarity: 3 (vunerable)
by pests:
Number of babies in a year: 1 pup
Lifespan: At least 7 years
There are three subspecies – northern, central, and southern. The northern are most at risk. They live in one site in Northland and one on Little Barrier Island. They hunt on the ground, which makes them more at risk from pests. They have also faced habitat loss.
Dan Riskin
Pekapeka | NZ greater shorttailed bat | Mystacina robusta
Rarity: 6 (data deficient)
Number of babies in a year: 0 (we don’t know)
Lifespan: 0 (we don’t know)
There hasn’t been any confirmed sightings since 1967 (that’s 55 years), so it might be extinct. In prehistoric times, it lived in the North and South Islands, but was only living on small islands near Rakiura | Stewart Island when Pākehā first settled in NZ some 200 years ago. In the 1963, rats invasions happened on these islands.
Pekapeka-tou-roa | Long-tailed bat | Chalinolobus tuberculatus
Rarity: 5 (critically endangered)
by pests:
Number of babies in a year: 1 pup
Lifespan: More than 11 years
Live throughout mainland Aotearoa, Rakiura | Stewart Island, Little Barrier and Great Barrier Islands, and Kāpiti Island. Seen more often than pekapeka-tou-poto because they fly at dusk at the edges of forests, some of their sites are close by to where people live, and they hunt in the air. Habitat loss and pests are making it hard for them to survive.
Giant burrowing bat | Vulcanops jennyworthyae
Rarity: 6 (extinct)
by pests: 1 (we don’t know why it died out)
Number of babies in a year: 0
Lifespan: 0
Fossil found at St Bathans dig site in Otago. This giant burrowing bat lived about 20 million years ago. It was three times the size of our living bats. It weighed about 40 grams.
Named after Jenny Worthy, a palaeontologist and Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the name of an old hotel at St Bathans.
Illustration: Canterbury Museum (CC by 4.0)
DOC
Museum (Specimen LM60)
Panga | Puzzles
Word find
These are all characteristics (features) of mammals. Words can be found written across, up, down, diagonally, and backwards.
Tick them off as you go
MILK DIAPHRAGM
TEETH
SWEAT GLANDS
Maze
Hedgehogs love to eat our native New Zealand invertebrates. Did you know that just one hedgehog was found with 283 wētā legs in its stomach?
Help this wētā keep its legs (and life) intact by finding its way through the hedgehog maze.
Hihi, hihi!
Check your whakautu | answers at kcc.org.nz/puzzle-answers.
What did the bat say to the friend who returned after missing a day of school?
Welcome bat.
What do you get when you cross a snake and a wallaby?
A jump rope!
What did the seal study in school?
Art Art!!!
expertAsk an
Deer and moa are both herbivores who browse/browsed for their food in our forests. Does that mean that deer are like moa?
Deer are not like moa. Their impact on our ngahere is very different. Let’s compare them to see why...
Total population numbers grew slowly over time.
Ate a varied diet. Didn’t eat to excess (too much at once). Nine species evolved here in Aotearoa.
Our native plants evolved with the tīpuna/tupuna of moa. That means they had defences against them, like spikes, toxins, and thick interlaced branches.
Had large feet and toes spread their weight out. Feet didn’t damage the forest floor.
Research into their fossilised poo, and pollen and spore samples, proves the forests they lived in had dense understoreys (plant life under the level of the canopy) with lots of variety in species. They were preyed on by pouākai | Haast’s eagle and kērangi | Eyles’ harrier.
Lived in small flocks. Matured into adults slowly. Bred slowly.
Stout-legged moa. Te Papa (S.044280)
Had a gizzard and gizzard stones. This worked like a concrete mixer slowly grinding down and digesting their food.
Moa were different sizes, with different shaped beaks. They had different ways of browsing and different techniques in plucking leaves and snipping leaves (like scissors/secateurs).
We spoke to Dr Nic Rawlence from the Department of Zoology at Otago University. He’s been studying prehistorical NZ, including moa and their diets, for 16 years!
Hooves dig into the forest floor, trampling it and causing lots of damage.
Seven different species were introduced here, coming from Asia, North America, and Europe.
Our native plants are defenceless against deer.
Eat favourite things until they are all gone. Then eat everything else from bottom of the forest upwards.
No natural predators in Aotearoa.
Different sizes, but they all browse in the same way using their teeth, lips, and their tongue which can twist and wrap around plants and pull.
Have a fermenting stomach. This means they can digest food quickly and eat less nutritious stuff like bark, seedlings, and leaf litter.
Number of deer in one area can get very large. Mature and breed quickly.
Forests they live in have sparse understoreys and not much variety.
Total population numbers grew suddenly (they exploded).
2022.
by Forest & Bird
Sika stag. stproc (iNaturalistNZ)
Spot the difference
Forest without pigs/deer/goats
The more of us big browsing and scavenging mammals, the worse it is for a forest. I, for one, can eat almost anything (and will just vomit up the rest).
Illustrations by Amber Sisaričh
How many differences can you find?
Forest with pigs/deer/goats
We keep eating until there is nothing much left. It’s boom or bust!
Keep our numbers down as low as possible so the ngahere can fight climate change and be a healthy home to native species.
CO2 bleeding (escaping) from the forest Ecosystem not working
Much less carbon can be trapped
Bird
Conservation JOBS
Jordan Munn
COMMERCIAL HUNTER
Jordan is the Director at Trap and Trigger. He leads a team of 16 hunters who are all young people aged under 30. They are hired to help with big pest mammals, like deer and goats, but also do jobs focused on smaller pest mammals.
We asked Jordan your questions:
Q: What is commercial hunting and how is it different from other hunting?
A: Hunting that is done for recreation (for sport or as a hobby) or for personal reasons is done so that people can collect meat and trophies. Hunting that is done commercially is for conservation reasons. It is to protect native species and their habitats.
Q: Do you hunt every day? Is your day always the same?
A: Someone in our team is hunting every day, but no one day will be the same. We are always in a different place or different part of the forest. Sometimes we are working out of helicopters, and other times we are walking a long way into the forest.
When we are hunting on the ground, we have our dogs by our sides and a pack with food, survival equipment, ammunition, and a knife in it. We work in the daytime and night-time for about eight hours at a time (that’s two hours longer than a day at school). Depending on the job, we might hunt as individuals, pairs, or a team.
Questions by Sam (age 6) and Tom (age 9)
Our Trap and Trigger team. Some of our vehicles.
Me with the dogs.
Q: Who do you work with and where do you work?
A: We work with government agencies like DOC, and regional and local councils. We do jobs all over the country, from the top of the North Island all the way down to Stewart Island.
Q: What is your favourite bit of hunting kit?
A: My favourite piece of clothing is my Skye Suit. It ties into helicopters, keeps me warm, and keeps me visible while working in helicopters.
Our thermal imaging system is pretty cool kit. When we use it, we can see through the forest.
What a view!
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I like my job because I get to work with my dog, and my dog and I get to travel around and see awesome places, like Fiordland. Most importantly, though, the work we do is meaningful. I feel happy and satisfied to know that I am helping endangered species, like kiwi, kākāpō, and kōkako, to grow in numbers.
Q: Why don’t you just get rid of all the pests at once?
A: We are trying to. That’s our aim. We can be limited (held back) by dense forest, steep cliffs, and big mountains, and also funding (how much money there is to do the job).
With our thermal imaging system. It’s a special type of camera that “sees” heat rather than light.
Suits.
Conservation JOBS
Brad Windust and Jo Sim
CONSERVATION DOG HANDLERS
Conservation Dogs are highly trained dogs used by the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai (DOC) to find unwanted pests and protected native species.
We asked Brad and Jo, Conservation Dog handlers, your questions:
Q: How do you train your dogs? Do you kill the cats and stoats, or just find them?
BRAD: It takes a lot of training to pass the test to be a conservation dog. Wero loves to play ball, so when he finds stoat or cat smell or scat (poo), he drops to the ground to tell me. That’s when I give him his ball as a reward for his hard work.
Wero’s job is just to find cats and stoats, then expert trappers come in and trap them. He always wears a muzzle so he can’t harm anything. Even though he’s highly trained, it’s extra safety.
Brad Windust works with Wero, who detects stoats and cat scat (poo).
Q: Why does your dog track cats and stoats?
BRAD: Stoats and cats kill lots of our native wildlife like kiwi chicks, bats, and geckos. When they get into special pest-free areas, they’re very tricky to catch. That’s why Wero gets called in to help with his amazing nose. He can sniff them out!
Q: Who do you work with/ where do you work?
BRAD: We get to work in the most beautiful places in the world. For example, all around Aotearoa, there are lots of pest-free islands. We need to go and check to make sure no cats or stoats have got onto them.
Wero indicating he’s found something.
Q: What is the best thing about being a conservation dog handler?
BRAD: It’s a dream job working with my best mate. We wander through the wilderness on remote islands and fenced sanctuary sites that are exploding with native wildlife, just like it used to be before pests arrived.
Ātaahua!
Q: Why do your dogs track native birds?
JO: To help understand where they are so they can be monitored. For example, kiwi are tracked by the dogs and caught by me, then a transmitter is attached so that their movements and breeding success can be checked. Sometimes we find penguins so people can then protect them with trapping.
Q: How do you train your dogs?
JO: Basic obedience first, simple but good. Then I train them while on a long lead to find a bag of feathers for me that I have hidden so they learn to indicate (signal) but not touch the feathers. They get to learn with live birds when they pass their exams. The dog exams are tests set and certified by DOC.
Q: What is the best thing about being a conservation dog handler?
JO: Getting to work with endangered species in beautiful places with my dogs!
Q: Who do you work with/ where do you work?
JO: I work with a huge variety of people and organisations. Community groups who are trapping, sanctuary groups – such as Tāwharanui, Zealandia, and Maungatautari –councils, and DOC.
Q: How do you call your dog back when it has gone too far?
JO: I use a whistle that I know they can hear. This works well in the forest when I can’t see them. It also means that I don’t have to yell at them!
The dogs with a DOC Ranger reading band on a tītī | sooty shearwater.
Ready to sniff some pingus!
Questions by Osgar (age 9) and Bill (age 10)
Left: Together, Rua and Miro indicate a penguin burrow. Right: Rua is indicating a kiwi.
Jo Sim works with dogs Maddie, Rua, and Miro They mostly detect penguins and kiwi but find other seabirds too.
Mailbox In the
How many mammals can you spot in this drawing by Abigail (age 7)?
Pūkeko Jessica (age 5)
Kekeno by Rio (age 7)
Ruru by Oliver (age 7)
Jasper with a moa bone!
Aurelia (age 6)
Jasper (age 7)
Kererū by Frankie-lee (age 8)
© Wild Things Issue 157, Nov 2022. Published by Forest & Bird
KCC ADVENTURES
Lake Rotokare Lizard Session
North Taranaki KCC visited Ash & Sophie, Rotokare’s Environmental Educators. Ash explained all about the predator proof fence, and we all checked our cars for stowaway predators. None were found thankfully.
First off, we went into the classroom where Ash gave us a talk about lizards. We learnt about the differences between skinks and geckos, the habitat they prefer, what they like to eat, how to handle them correctly if we found a lizard in danger, and how to have a lizard-friendly garden at our homes. The classroom was full of lot of other interesting things too, like model kiwi and moa eggs.
Now was the part we had all been waiting for! Outside, we searched the enclosures for lizards, which were very good at hiding from us. We then got up close with two young geckos while Ash & Sophie held them. We all loved them! All the children were able to find or see a gold striped gecko hiding amongst the flaxes we searched. We were given some tips too on bush tucker – we sampled the tips of supplejack (cucumber tasting) and tasted some micro-greens.
Lee McCraken, KCO North Taranaki
Rongoā rākau & Matariki
KCC Tauranga met Rob Taylor from Pirirākua Hauora, who showed them around their rongoā garden. He taught them about rongoā rākau (traditional Māori medicine using native plants). They learnt about the tikanga surrounding the kawakawa tree, before making a kawakawa tea. Rob also taught them about Matariki, and afterwards everyone made their own Matariki posters.
Adventures have started back up again –
Where is that adventure?
Had a KCC adventure?
Let us know at kcc@forestandbird. org.nz.
Here we are setting the wild cat trap.
“In our garden, we have lots of fruit and native trees. We have noticed that rats, mice, and possum have been damaging them. We have helped our dad to place and set traps in our garden. We check them each day. We have caught 20 mice, six rats, and two possums so far this year. Over the last three years, we have caught three wild cats. Our pest control work is helping protect birds, reptiles, and the bush in our local environment.”
Just
Olivia and Alexander from Northland.