Rare plants doing well at reserve
Rare plants doing well at reserve
Tiny treasures, including some of the world's smallest buttercups and a rare cress plant, are being protected on a new Department of Conservation reserve near Alexandra.
Conservation
Taste of wild job
Taste of wild job
Finding out what the job of a wildlife ranger entails attracted about 40 people to celebrate World Ranger Day with the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust yesterday.
How friendly is too friendly?
How friendly is too friendly?
Sirocco, the kakapo due to be on display at Orokonui Ecosanctuary, in Dunedin, in September, has never mated with another kakapo but became an overnight YouTube sensation after being filmed getting amorous on BBC TV presenter Mark Carwardine's head.
Happy in a small tin shed
Happy in a small tin shed
Imagine feeling privileged being allowed to travel to one of New Zealand's most protected offshore islands, only to spend most of the day in a blackened tin shed smaller than a prison cell.
Isolation second nature
Isolation second nature
Stephen Jaquiery visits the offshore sanctuary of Codfish Island, a small island to the west of Stewart Island, where he finds the delightful kakapo is not the only interesting island-dweller.
Wins against wilding pines and goats
Wins against wilding pines and goats
Wilding pine and feral goat controls are the conservation success stories of the past three years, and while closer ties with the community are seen as a green opportunity, securing funds to get the work done is the challenge.
Hawaiian pest eradication exercise lauded
Hawaiian pest eradication exercise lauded
A hawaiian peninsula is now almost completely predator free, thanks in part to a Te Anau conservator.
Conifer group to celebrate
Conifer group to celebrate
The second annual meeting of the Wakatipu Wilding Conifer Group will double as a celebration of the work done so far to curb the spread of pines in the past two years.
Scientist leading drive to save frogs
Scientist leading drive to save frogs
University of Otago scientist Dr Phil Bishop has been appointed to help lead an international forum which aims to address the alarming decline in amphibians around the world.
Predator-proof fence study questions cost-effectiveness
Predator-proof fence study questions cost-effectiveness
A study which found predator-proof fences often create "small expensive zoos surrounded by degraded habitat" unable to sustain the animal and plant species within it has been criticised by those who run such enclosures in Otago and elsewhere as simplistic and flawed.
Too many tuatara with nowhere to go
Too many tuatara with nowhere to go
The country's longest-serving tuatara breeder now has more of the reptiles than he can easily find homes for.
Selling the family slither
Selling the family slither
It is not too much of a problem for New Zealanders to buy an elephant or two to put in a zoo. But perish the thought we might buy or sell a tuatara, a weka, a jewelled gecko or any other native species.
Words of caution on selling native species
Words of caution on selling native species
Not everyone is keen on the idea of selling native species.
Rising illegal traffic in rare reptiles spurs plea
Rising illegal traffic in rare reptiles spurs plea
More work needs to be done investigating wildlife trafficking from New Zealand as the demand for rare reptiles increases around the world, Traffic Southeast Asia deputy director Chris Shepherd says.
Time to hit smugglers
Time to hit smugglers
In the past year alone, up to 200 protected and endangered jewelled geckos, worth about $1.8 million on the black market, could have been taken illegally from spots on Otago Peninsula.
Wildlife smugglers 'just greedy'
Wildlife smugglers 'just greedy'
Wildlife smugglers are "greedy people without any consideration for animals", Wildlife Enforcement Group senior investigator Stuart Williamson says.
Highway threatens 'killer' worm
Highway threatens 'killer' worm
It emerges by night from a dark damp corner of South Dunedin; a predator that kills its prey in the most sickening and horrific way.
Lobster quotas cut in South
Lobster quotas cut in South
Commercial rock lobster catch quotas for Otago and Southland will decrease by up to 8% this week.
Solution for rare fish population
Solution for rare fish population
Conflict between the need for irrigation water on the Strath Taieri and saving a population of endangered galaxiids has been resolved without going to the Environment Court.
Kaka couple tentative about freedom
Kaka couple tentative about freedom
Two long-term captive kaka have taken their first halting steps into the wild at Orokonui Ecosanctuary but are not quite ready to leave their aviary.