The shocking decline of birds in the world is a disaster for humanity

Predator in abundance

Predators around the country are the main threat to our native birds: opossums, rats, ermines, ferrets, weasels, cats and hedgehogs kill millions of birds. birds every year. . Ermine played a role in the decline of endangered species such as the wren, black stilt, k to k to p ō and k ō kako. They also eat up to 60% of young kiwis. Possums kill the sooty shearwater (t ītī or sheep), the brown kiwi, the North Island k ō kako, saddleback, p ī wakawaka and the black petrel of Westland (t to iko).

The millions of wild cats that populate our countryside and forest edges decimate the wading birds that live in the braided river beds of the South Island

. the saddle of the South Island, the woodcock of Stewart Island, the North Island k or kako, kerer ū k to k to riki and m ō hua (yellow head). Exotic social wasp species compete with kerimako (bellbirds) for bee honeydew and invasive plants such as old man's beard, passion fruit banana, wandering willy, Japanese honeysuckle, asparagus and lupine climbers, swamps and choke native flora and provide a perfect cover for cats and wild ferrets.

New Zealand is home to some 2264 introduced species – 30 mammals, 34 birds, and 2200 plants – competing with native, or earlier, species. Most of the line-up of this naughty gallery came on our invitation (the stoats were introduced to curb the population of uncontrolled rabbits but they largely ignored the rabbits and developed native birds), we have not seen it! We have not ignored the problem.

From the Te Anau Bush Guide, Richard Henry took up his duties in the 1890s by transferring over 700 kiwis and k to k [19459006In p ō at Resolution Island off the coast of Fiordland, many initiatives have been taken to deal with these threats. The area of ​​public conservation land has increased from 7,000,000 ha in 1990 to 8,500,000 ha; about one third of New Zealand is in the field of conservation. Some 170,000 ha of land is protected under the QEII covenants; An additional 171,700 ha are held under Ng to Whenua R to 25 years of conventions or kawenata.

Pest control has an effect – in the southwestern Landsborough Valley, the number of native birds has doubled, mainly due to the trapping at the valley scale and aerial drops of 1080. Only two species, tautou and migratory koekoe to (long-tailed cuckoo), decreased in number.

The Cacophony project, developed by Grant Ryan, inventor of Christchurch, experiments with a device that will recognize predators. in the bush and pepper with a 1080 pellet explosion.

Research on new genetic techniques, including gene technology that aims to drive infertility through a predator-specific population of predators and toxins , are in class.

However, the 1080 aerial application remains essential in the foreseeable future, until innovations in trapping and ground poisoning become more reliable.