Kākā friendly predator control

One of the big challenges in predator control is the balance between catching the critters that you’re aiming for, while excluding the species that you don’t want to catch.

Alongside staff from Greater Wellington, and behavioural ecologist Dr. Rachael Shaw from Te Herenga Waka (Victoria University Wellington), we set up a few types of tree-mounted bait stations off-track throughout the sanctuary in kākā dense areas. These stations are the same models used to control possums and rats throughout Wellington. The stations set up in Zealandia valley don’t contain bait but are otherwise identical to how they are installed outside the valley. Each station has a motion-sensor camera trained on it. Through this set up we can monitor how kākā interact with the stations, to ensure that bait stations in Wellington are fit for purpose for possums, but not parrots.

With kākā populations increasing in other parts of Aotearoa, the learnings gained here will not only help in Wellington but everywhere inquisitive kākā are found.