Funding boost to help wipe out last possums from Mahia Peninsula

Whakatipu Mahia – Predator Free Mahia said the new cash boost will help eradicate possums from Mahia Peninsula by mid-2027. Composite image.

A cash injection has boosted efforts to wipe out the last possums from one of Hawke’s Bay’s most picturesque areas.

Whakatipu Mahia – Predator Free Mahia has received a $310,000 boost from the Lottery Grants Board and the Eastern & Central to help in its mission to eradicate possums from the Mahia Peninsula by mid-2027.

Launched in 2018 by Predator Free Hawke’s Bay, the $4.86 million project aims to remove possums from 14,500ha of the peninsula and develop a low-cost farmland eradication model that can be applied across the region and country.

A Whakatipu Mahia – Predator Free Mahia spokesperson said recent monitoring in the Mahia Scenic Reserve indicated that there were fewer than 100 possums remaining in the area and they were starting to see canopy recovery with the regrowth of native trees, flowering and seeding – helping species like kākā return to the area.

The new funding will support the project’s final phase through to mid-2026, which includes trapping, refilling bait stations and detection dog surveys, followed by a maintenance phase to keep the area possum-free.

Once possums have been removed, a detection network will be installed to identify any possums that return to the area and any possum detected will be removed.

According to the Department of Conservation, possums have a significant impact on many of New Zealand’s natural ecosystems.

Leaves are the main part of their diet, but possums are opportunistic omnivores, and eat native birds and their eggs, land snails such as Powelliphanta and invertebrates, including weta.

They also eat buds, flowers, fruit, berries and nectar, which means they compete with native birds and reptiles for food sources.

The Whakatipu Mahia - Predator Free Mahia spokesperson said once possums are removed from the peninsula, the forest there will naturally regenerate.

Native animal species are also expected to return and experience improved breeding success without the threat of possum predation.

Once the possum has been removed, the organisation will move its sights to eradicating other pest species like rodents and mustelids from the area.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chair Sophie Siers said the new funding was a vital step in protecting Mahia Peninsula’s environment.

“It lets us complete the work we started in 2018 and secure the peninsula for the future. Removing possums strengthens our native forests, protects farms, and keeps us on track for Predator Free 2050.”

Predator Free 2050 is a plan from the Government to eradicate all introduced predators in New Zealand by 2050.

Hawke’s Bay regional councillor for the Wairoa constituency Di Roadley said the Mahia community had been an integral part of the project by reporting possum sightings and sharing local knowledge.

“As we look ahead, the community will continue to play a key role in keeping Mahia possum-free, building on the work we’ve done together.”

The next goal for Whakatipu Mahia – Predator Free Mahia is to establish a kiwi sanctuary alongside Kiwis for Kiwi planning to use the area as a kiwi creche, but details are still to be confirmed.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.