Alex Clare, left, and Alex Tuffin from Hawke's Bay Regional Council with one of the new DOC200 predator traps on Te Mata Peak. Photo / Warren Buckland
Alex Clare, left, and Alex Tuffin from Hawke's Bay Regional Council with one of the new DOC200 predator traps on Te Mata Peak. Photo / Warren Buckland
Te Mata Park is on a mission to improve native biodiversity to benefit the environment - and predator control is all part of the picture in protecting the whenua.
Thanks to a grant from Biodiversity HB and one from a generous park user, Te Mata Park has been ableto update pest control measures.
With grant funding over the next few weeks, 13 DOC200 traps and effective rabbit control measures will be set up in appropriate places around the park.
Park manager Emma Buttle said, "We are absolutely delighted that the application was successful; the traps will make a huge difference in protecting our native flora and fauna."
Al Cuming, a regular park user, has a keen interest in pest control and builds his own traps.
"Al knows the traps will significantly impact our park's natural environment," Buttle said.
HBRC Alex Clare, left, and Alex Tuffin carefully set and placed one of the new DOC200 predator traps on Te Mata Peak. Photo / Warren Buckland
DOC200 traps are humane kill traps for rats, stoats, and hedgehogs.
Buttle explained that the Connovation lure or dehydrated rabbit is used as bait, which has proven very effective in the existing traps.
"Whole eggs also work well," she said
The rabbit control measures are also essential to the predator control strategy.
Rabbits threaten ecological values when they browse vulnerable native plant communities, while hedgehogs, rats and stoats prey on indigenous birds, reptiles and invertebrates and can impact the regeneration of some plants by eating seeds and seedlings.
Seven additional volunteers were added to assist with monitoring the new traps.
New volunteers will receive training and be supplied with the tools they require, including bait.
"We are hugely grateful to our volunteers for assisting us with the monitoring and reporting of all catches," Buttle said.
"Te Mata Park has a very lean operational budget, and support from our community and charitable trusts is essential for effective management and protection of the park."
