Help protect endangered species by protecting the fence

Zealandia’s iconic fence is designed to keep mammalian predators out of the sanctuary but is being compromised by items on the outside of the fence being left leaning against it.

We've had reports recently of signage, mountain bikes and other items being left leaning against the fence.

Our 2.2m tall, 8.6km long fence is what keeps rare taonga species safe. Its unique design, involving tightly woven wire mesh, a rounded top hat, and an underground mesh skirt, all work together to prevent anything from jumping, climbing, and burrowing into the sanctuary.

While seemingly harmless, these left items provide easy access to opportunistic agile predators like weasels and rats who could use them to jump over the protective rounded top hat. The damage a single weasel could do in the sanctuary could be catastrophic to at-risk native species living at Zealandia.

If you are biking or walking around the outside of the fence, please don't lean things against it - even if just for a second. Please share this around with others who use this space to let them know the risk this type of behaviour brings and let us know if you see anything that might be a potential risk to the security of the fence.

It takes all of us to bring these native species back to our city, and the fence is one of the most integral pieces of the journey.

Video: Stoat using side wall to scale fence prototype during testing and development for the Zealandia fence in 1997
Photo: Zealandia fence - Hayley May