Kia Whārite - Mangapurua, Rat & Stoat Control Operation

From 31/8/2012, the Department of Conservation, Whanganui Area Office, intend to apply baits containing sodium fluoroacetate (1080) over 31,000 ha of the Whanganui National Park and surrounding reserves to control possums for the protection of forest ecosystems. The operational area is between; the Heao Stream, ridge to the east of the Mangapurua Stream and Whakahoro the southern boundary is the Whanganui and Tangarākau Rivers.

Method of control: Cereal baits containing the pesticide 1080 will be aerially sown throughout the block.  Poison baits are green cylindrical pellets about 3 cm long made from cereal.  Prior to the poison drop non-toxic prefeed baits will be aerially sown.

This pesticide is poisonous to humans and domestic animals.

ALWAYS REMEMBER:

• DO NOT touch bait                                                                        

 • WATCH CHILDREN at all times                                                

 • DO NOT EAT animals from this area                                           

 • DO NOT allow DOGS access to animal carcasses. Observe these rules whenever you see warning signs placed at the public access ways in the above areas.

See the Kia Whārite – Mangapurua Operational Area factsheet available on the DOC website for further information.

Kiwi aversion training day in Whanganui

Increasing kiwi numbers in and around Whanganui National Park is one of the many goals of Kia Wharite.

Department of Conservation staff are running an avian avoidance training day on Sunday July 22^nd 2012 at Gordon Park Scenic Reserve in Whanganui as part of their six monthly training days.

If you own a dog be it hunting, working or pet we encourage you to book them in. Particularly those dogs that are used in areas where kiwi are present.

Dog should be taught basic obedience techniques prior to the avian avoidance training. As part of the training each dog is walked through a short bush course where kiwi carcasses and props are set up.  The dog is walked through the course and if it shows interest in the props by approaching and making contact a quick static shock is delivered which teaches the dog to avoid the props.  The dog is then taken back past the props where it is observed and certified if avoidance behaviour is shown. The training takes approximately 15 minutes.

Points to remember

• Dogs can and do kill kiwi and other ground dwelling birds, it is natural instinctual behaviour
• Any breed of dog has the potential to kill kiwi, even the family pet
• Dog owners can help reduce the threat to kiwi by taking responsibility for their dogs and ensuring they are trained and obedient
• Dogs must return for retraining and testing annually for certification to remain current
• Avian aversion training is a good tool and reduces the risk to kiwi but there is no substitute for spending quality time training your dog.

More information on how to save kiwi can be found on the BNZ Save the Kiwi website.  Go into the draw to win a trip for you and a mate and four dogs by getting your dog avoidance trained before the 31^st August 2012 (full terms and conditions on website) 

www.savethekiwi.org.nz/dogsandkiwi

To book your dog in for the training day or for more information call the Whanganui Area Office 06 349 2100 or email whanganuiao@doc.govt.nz

Whio Release

Students from Orautoha School had an experience of a lifetime recently and two of the students, Neihana Hall (11 yrs) and Quintin Rapana (12 yrs) played a special part in releasing four whio (blue duck) into the Manganui o te Ao River on Monday.

The whio were released near Ruatiti Domain (Raetihi) after spending most of there young life in the South Island where the eggs were hatched as part of a captive breeding programme at Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch and then reared at Peacock Springs Wildlife Park, also in Christchurch.

They arrived in the North Island on the 23rd April and spent their first week in Palmerton North Esplanade under the watchful eye of Peter Russell the Esplanade Avery keeper. On Monday 30th April local kaumatua Hokio Ngataierua-Tinirau blessed the birds near Ruatiti Domain along with iwi representatives, Orautoha school kids, DOC staff, Esplanade staff and a few locals. The students and staff gently released the four whio into the crystal clear waters of the Manganui o te Ao, now there permanent home.

The Manganui o te Ao is one of eight critical recovery sites for whio in New Zealand. Conservation of these populations is imperative if the whio is to be saved from extinction. DOC, Iwi, Horizons Regional Council and Central North Island Blue Duck Charitable Trust and local landowners are key partners under a project called Kia Wharite. Local landowners have continued to support the programme with access to their land and protection of bush blocks and river margins, and local schools Orautoha & Kaitieke each manage stoat traps near the school and support whio habitat by increasing riparian planting along their streams and being actively involved in wetland restoration.

The whio is a unique threatened species of waterfowl endemic to New Zealand and has no close relative anywhere else in the world. Around 50 pairs of whio are protected from stoats and cats along the Manganui o te Ao and Retaruke Rivers as part of Kia Wharite.

Photo From left; Belinda Phillips, Ellen Beattie, Quintin Rapana, Neihana Hall