Helping protect Zealandia from Weasels

The bird sanctuaries around New Zealand play an important role in protecting NZ birds. Not only do they provide pest free sanctuaries for our rare birds and other fauna, they help engage the public and support conservation science. All this was showcased at the Sanctuaries of New Zealand (SoNZi) annual conference last month, hosted by Zealandia and Victoria University. Check out the SoNZi agenda for more information.

One of the highlights of SoNZi is hearing from sanctuaries themselves: sharing lessons learnt over the year. We had several updates from the hosts, Zealandia, including a one on a recent weasel incursion. The fences do a great job, but occasionally incursions happen. In this case, the DOC AI Cam was very useful in helping to identify where the weasels were. Weasels are notoriously difficult to capture on cameras because they are small, fast moving and often nocturnal. The always on, thermal camera can pick up their body heat easily. Knowing where the weasels were helped the Zealandia team remove the weasels. They are continuing to use the cameras to monitor for any further incursions.

This video shows a pair of weasels running through the sanctuary

This video shows a bird flying off after being chased by a weasel.

After the conference, I spent some time with the Zealandia staff and they showed me this cool video of a kākā. I hadn't seen one on a thermal video before. These birds are now a common site around Wellington.