Latest news with #nativeSpecies
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- RNZ News
Government gives wildlife restoration $22 million funding boost over three years
Tama Potaka said the funding would be split between supporting native species and tackling invasive pests. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The government is putting extra money toward restoring unique wildlife around the country, with a funding boost of $22 million over three years. The conservation minister made the announcement on Friday at the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife facility near Christchurch. Tama Potaka said the funding - which comes out of the International Visitor Levy - is strategically split between supporting native species and tackling invasive pests, "giving birds, bush, marine life and landscapes respite to recover". It will help support the recovery of highly threatened species at national parks, islands and popular sites. Potaka said conservation-related tourism was worth around $3.4 billion a year. "We're putting $4.15 million into expanding predator control, plus $11.5 million on the recovery of highly threatened species, including tara iti, at national parks and popular sites so visitors can enjoy thriving natural areas where their funds have contributed." Another $7m will go toward targeting feral goats that remove the forest undergrowth and prevent regeneration. Potaka said he was "delighted" $1.7m of it would go toward protecting critically endangered "Canterbury locals" kakī/black stilts and kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeets. "There are only about 400 of these parakeets in the world. They nest in trees, cared for by both parents - but parent birds are no match for rats and stoats." He said New Zealand attracted visitors who "care about nature" and every cent that went into conservation was an "investment in our environment and our economy". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Partnering to save some of New Zealand's threatened species
Photo: Supplied / NZ Nature Fund New Zealanders regularly report in surveys how much they enjoy the great outdoors. But as the Department of Conservation states on its website - nature is in trouble. It says more than 4000 native species are threatened or at risk of extinction - one of the highest proportions in the world. One of the organisations partnering with DOC to do something about this decline is the New Zealand Nature Fund. It has recently appointed a new chair to the Board of Trustees, Neil Mulholland - who previously led the US National Park Foundation and oversaw a huge increase in donors. He joins Kathryn from Blenheim to discuss increasing support for the Fund's activities and the role of philanthropy in preserving New Zealand's biodiversity.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Trail cam solves mystery after gruesome find next to Aussie dam: 'Very precise'
A trail camera in a rural Queensland town has captured an incredible act of evolution by an Australian animal. On the edge of a dam, the camera filmed the moment a rakali, a native water rat, takes down its prey – a poisonous cane toad that the rodent has adapted to eat, leaving behind nothing but the skin, bones and toxic glands. Cane toads are the result of one of Australia's worst environment blunders, originally introduced in Queensland in 1935 to help control pest beetles in Queensland. The invasive frogs are now spreading across the north of the country, and towards the southwest, at a rate of up to 50km per year, with experts struggling to stop the march of the toad. While the toads do have predators, there are not many who are able to eat one and live to tell the tale. The poisonous skin glands in its shoulders kill goannas, quolls, snakes and even crocodiles. One native animal who has learned to fight back against the destructive species is the rakali, a large aquatic rat found in all states and territories. The highly intelligent rodents learned to hunt and kill cane toads in less than two years after the toads moved into their habitat, a study from the University of Melbourne found. When Hayley Troupe found a dead cane toad by her dam in Blackbutt, in southeast Queensland, she had an inkling there could be a rakali behind it. 'There was a lot of precision because all of the skin was there, the poisonous glands on the back were still there, and there was bits of bone around,' she told Yahoo News. 'It was obviously something that's been very precise in its eating and obviously skilled at eating it without eating the poisonous bits.' While she'd never seen a rakali on her land before, she had a trail cam that she regularly set up around her five-acre property and decided to move it close to the water's edge to catch the elusive animal in action. Two days later, her camera recorded the moment a rakali attacked a cane toad, showing how it flips the toad on to its back to avoid the poison glands. Rakali commonly target larger toads and will eat their heart and liver. They've been known to move the gall bladder — which contains toxic bile salts — out of the way and also remove the skin off the toad's legs before consuming the muscle. Hayley, 35, said the rat must've had a 'feast' as she'd found about 10 other toad carcasses in the days that followed. 'It's great that they've learned that, but it's a shame that a lot of the other native species haven't yet. There's a lot of species that are suffering because of cane toads, like quolls, for example. They haven't worked out how to eat them safely,' she said. Hayley, who works for Queensland Conservation Council as their Nature Organiser, shared the video on the QCC Facebook page where it quickly garnered more than 1.3 million views. 'It shows you that people love nature and they like learning about it. But I guess it would be nice if we could get that sort of enthusiasm in protecting nature as well, and pushing our governments to protect habitat," she said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Tourists to see 'extinct' animals behind national park's 25km predator-free fence
Tourists will once again be able to see animals that became extinct in an Australian national park. You could argue it's a bit like Jurassic Park, except the creatures are much smaller. The plan is to reintroduce native species that are locally extinct but survived in small numbers elsewhere, giving them a second chance. This time around, they'll be protected by a 25km fence that's designed to keep invasive predators out. The 2,000-hectare Nungatta feral predator-free area in the South-East Forest National Park has been completed, but for now, curious walkers can only walk around the edge. By the end of 2025, they'll be able to venture inside. The one impediment is that National Parks and Wildlife Service first has to develop and install gates that will let walkers in, while keeping predators outside. Because a single cat or fox could decimate a population of rare animals. You'll need to look hard if you want to spot any of the reintroduced creatures, because most will be small. A population of critically endangered smoky mice was released as part of a trial commencing in September 2024, and at least one juvenile has been born since then. 🚨 281 experts call for ban of 'toxic' product sold at Coles, Bunnings, Woolworths, Mitre 10 📸 Beach find highlights dark side of Queensland's $88 million tourism pledge 🌏 Alarming map highlights growing threats to $3.8 billion industry On Thursday, the state government officially opened the predator-free zone. NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said it will soon be home to more threatened species. They will likely include the long-footed potoroo, eastern bettong, eastern quoll and New Holland mouse. 'The opening of Nungatta demonstrates the Minns Labor Government's commitment to protecting and restoring our environment, including native animals and their habitats,' she said. The exterior of the fence will be patrolled at least three times a week. Other animals already surviving in the sanctuary include eastern pygmy-possums, yellow-bellied gliders and powerful owls. Sadly, small marsupials are struggling to survive on mainland Australia, with feral cats alone killing around 1.5 billion native animals a year. Habitat destruction and climate change also remain key threats. In NSW, around 50 per cent of threatened species in the state are on track to be wiped out in a century, according to a government report. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
News.com.au
06-06-2025
- Science
- News.com.au
Aussie park you can see ‘extinct' animals
Tourists and Aussies alike will now be able to see local animals that became extinct at Nungatta in South East Forest National Park. A 25km-long feral-proof fence now surrounds the area with visitors only allowed to walk around the edge. But plans to allow curious walkers inside are set for later this year. In the 2000-hectare park will be native species that are locally extinct but survived in small numbers elsewhere, giving them a second chance. National Parks and Wildlife Service has to develop and install gates that will let walkers in, while keeping predators outside. More than 40 remote cameras will constantly monitoring the area, to detect any potential incursions by feral animals such as feral cats or foxes. According to the NSW Government, across Australia, feral cats alone are estimated to kill more than 1.5 billion native animals every year. The critically endangered smoky mouse became the first species to be reintroduced into the area, in September 2024. Since then, 79 smoky mice have been released and ecologists recently detected the first juvenile smoky mice known to be born in the area. The long-footed potoroo, eastern bettong, eastern quoll and New Holland mouse are expected to be reintroduced in the coming years. Nungatta, which is one of 10 feral predator-free areas established by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), is the first of its kind on the South Coast. It was chosen from more than 35 potential sites due to its suitable habitat for reintroduced species. The program represents one of NSW's most significant threatened species restoration initiatives, and is funded by the NSW Environmental Trust and NPWS. 'The opening of Nungatta demonstrates the Minns Labor Government's commitment to protecting and restoring our environment, including native animals and their habitats,' Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe, said in a statement on Thursday. 'The team at National Parks along with the Saving our Species program has already successfully reintroduced the critically endangered smoky mouse, and with the fence now complete, Nungatta will be a safe haven to even more threatened species.' Meanwhile, Yiraaldiya National Park, also on the list, has locally extinct native wildlife being reintroduced. This includes eastern bettongs, koalas, long-nosed bandicoots, and the New Holland mouse. The New Holland mouse was presumed extinct in NSW until it was rediscovered in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in 1967. 'For this reason, there is no access to the park while the feral predator-free area is being established,' NSW National Parks and Wildlife Servicesaid on its site.
