Conservation blog

The future is looking brighter for the Karure/Kakaruia/Chatham Islands black robin, with ongoing monitoring and research showing encouraging signs of recovery across the species’ range while also helping guide future conservation decisions.

By Nigel Binks, DOC Freshwater Technical Advisor

High in the windswept mountain tops of the West Coast, where tarns sit like mirrors among sphagnum mosses and alpine herb fields, a Department of Conservation expedition has uncovered a remarkable surprise – an endangered caddisfly discovered hundreds of kilometres from where it was originally discovered.

Once common on Maung’Rē/Mangere Island, the ranguru/Chatham petrel disappeared due to habitat loss and cat predation. Work is now underway to re-establish a breeding colony on Maung’Rē/Mangere Island.

At Lake Papaitonga in the Horowhenua, a group of Manawatū rangers took on a challenge that had frustrated previous control efforts: how do you find and eliminate purple loosestrife in a complex wetland environment? 

As the winter snap hits through the country, many of us are reaching for extra layers and staying indoors a little more often. But for our native wildlife, winter is far from a time of inactivity.

From alpine parrots playing in the snow to seabirds returning from epic ocean journeys, many species have developed remarkable ways to survive and thrive during the colde...