Department of Conservation - Latest News [Page 16]
Monitoring Reveals Possum Reduction At Pirongia
Tuesday, 19 January 2021, 12:53 pm | Department of Conservation
Diverse native wildlife on Mount Pirongia can flourish this summer, thanks to a successful pest control operation, says the Department of Conservation (DOC). As part of DOC’s ongoing nationwide Tiakina Ngā Manu programme, predator control ... More >>
Mount Ruapehu Volcanic Alert Level Reduced To Level 1
Monday, 11 January 2021, 3:38 pm | Department of Conservation
The Volcanic Alert Level (VAL) for Mount Ruapehu has been lowered from level 2 to level 1 today. The Department of Conservation (DOC) closed the summit area of Mount Ruapehu on December 21, 2020. The area 2km from the centre of Te Wai ā-moe/Crater ... More >>
Keep An Eye Out For Māui This Summer
Monday, 21 December 2020, 1:33 pm | Department of Conservation
With a record number of Kiwis purchasing boats and getting out on the water this summer, the Department of Conservation (DOC) is asking people to report any sightings of Hector’s and Māui dolphins. Hector’s and Māui are the smallest species of ... More >>
Cameras Highlight Challenges For Chick Survival
Monday, 21 December 2020, 9:35 am | Department of Conservation
Chatham Island oystercatcher As chicks from a critically threatened tōrea/oystercatcher begin to hatch, the Department of Conservation (DOC) is conscious of survival challenges highlighted by monitoring cameras. The endangered tōrea/Chatham Island oystercatcher ... More >>
Stay Safe On Taranaki Mounga This Summer
Thursday, 17 December 2020, 4:10 pm | Department of Conservation
Visitors to Taranaki Mounga and Egmont National Park are being urged to prepare properly as a busy summer season looms for the popular North Island destination. With international travel thwarted by COVID-19 and related border restrictions, the ... More >>
Native Bats Thrive After Predator Control
Wednesday, 16 December 2020, 10:47 am | Department of Conservation
New Zealand’s native bats/pekapeka are thriving at sites in Fiordland and the central North Island due to Department of Conservation (DOC) predator control. Long and short-tailed bats were once common in Aotearoa but have disappeared from many ... More >>
DOC Reconsiders Concession At Centre Of Motutapu/Rangitoto Supreme Court Case
Monday, 7 December 2020, 12:51 pm | Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC) has decided an application by Fullers Group Limited to operate guided tours on Rangitoto and Motutapu islands in the Hauraki Gulf should have been declined. In 2018 the Supreme Court instructed DOC to reconsider ... More >>
DOC And Recreational Fishers Working Together To ‘tackle’ Marine Bycatch
Tuesday, 1 December 2020, 11:44 am | Department of Conservation
Recreational fishers in the Marlborough Sounds are being encouraged to use a new app to report accidental capture of marine protected species, in a bid to help scientists better understand the impacts of recreational fishing. The Department of Conservation ... More >>
Big Year Underway At Albatross Colony
Monday, 30 November 2020, 11:29 am | Department of Conservation
Familiar faces are returning for the new season of Royal Cam, with a big breeding year underway for the toroa/northern royal albatross colony on Otago’s windswept Pukekura/Taiaroa Head. More than 120 albatrosses, a taonga species, have returned ... More >>
DOC Completes Tahr Control For 2020
Thursday, 26 November 2020, 11:59 am | Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC) has completed its planned Himalayan tahr control operations within the tahr feral range for 2020. Tahr Programme Lead, James Holborow says DOC hunters and contractors worked over four months in a range of alpine environments ... More >>
From Mountains To Sea To Space – Measuring Ocean Health On The Kāpiti Coast
Friday, 20 November 2020, 3:55 pm | Department of Conservation
This Friday, The Kāpiti Coast is getting a high-tech addition with the installation of a new buoy on the edge of the Kāpiti Marine Reserve. This buoy is a ‘sister’ to the one in Wellington Harbour – a familiar figure to many residents, ... More >>
Kākā monitoring reveals four-fold population increase
Tuesday, 17 November 2020, 2:15 pm | Department of Conservation
A new round of monitoring in a 20-year programme has shown an impressive four-fold increase in the population of kākā in the North Island’s Pureora Forest. More >>
Queenstown Predator Trapping Workshop “not All Guts And Gore”
Friday, 13 November 2020, 12:16 pm | Department of Conservation
Queenstowners keen to do their bit for neighbourhood native species will have the opportunity to learn some hands-on skills at a trapping workshop this month. A two-day immersive predator trapping workshop will be held in Queenstown with the aim of helping ... More >>
Tuatara Journey Up South Island To Marlborough Sounds’ Homeland
Friday, 13 November 2020, 11:52 am | Department of Conservation
Seventy-three tuatara have this week winged their way from Invercargill to their natural home in the Marlborough Sounds. The Takapourewa/Stephens Island tuatara came from Southland Museum & Art Gallery (SMAG) and have been added to wild tuatara ... More >>
Giraffe Bones, Whale Meat And Monkey Skull Seized During Operation Thunder
Friday, 13 November 2020, 8:51 am | Department of Conservation
Giraffe bones, canned whale meat and a monkey skull were among items seized by the Department of Conservation (DOC) during an international crackdown on wildlife crime. Operation Thunder 2020 involved 103 countries in a coordinated push against the illegal ... More >>
Citizen Scientists Can Help Save Freshwater Fish
Friday, 23 October 2020, 11:43 am | Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is calling on citizen scientists to celebrate World Fish Migration Day (24 October) by downloading an app and checking out a new video to help assess fish passage barriers. DOC Freshwater Manager Elizabeth Heeg ... More >>
Godwit breaks record for trans-Pacific marathon
Friday, 23 October 2020, 11:37 am | Department of Conservation
A male kūaka/godwit is the talk of the global ornithological community after setting what appears to be a new world record for a non-stop migration marathon from Alaska to the Firth of Thames. More >>
Caution Urged As Dotterels Begin Breeding Season
Tuesday, 13 October 2020, 4:03 pm | Department of Conservation
Visitors to the Waikato’s wind-swept west coast beaches are being urged to tread carefully as the endangered tūturiwhatu/New Zealand dotterel begin their breeding season. Once widespread across New Zealand, the dotterel is a small shorebird ... More >>
Penguins Aren’t Playthings
Monday, 12 October 2020, 10:34 am | Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is disturbed by reports of people in Napier handling kororā/little blue penguins and posting images of themselves with the birds on social media. “Kororā are wild, living animals and it’s very unsettling to ... More >>
Waitomo Walkway A Finalist In Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards
Thursday, 1 October 2020, 10:52 am | Department of Conservation
One of Waitomo’s most picturesque locations is a finalist in the 2020 Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards. The Department of Conservation (DOC) is responsible for the management of Ruakuri Nature Walk, a family-friendly loop track considered one ... More >>