Thread: Whataroa kea

Originally Posted by gimp

ZIP have done quite a lot of research in this direction as well. They have determined, as best as they can tell, the trap density required to detect/eventually catch low numbers of possums remaining in or re-invading an eradicated area based on possum home range size and behaviour. They have developed leghold traps that have a daytime lockout (to avoid by-catch of kea - a lot of traps kill kea, which everyone seems to be concerned about. 1 dead kea to 3000 trap nights with regular leg hold traps is a back-of-the-envelope number I've heard) and use a low-frequency radio system to alert when they've been sprung, so that they don't have to be checked daily. It's all good stuff that is promising for poison-free maintenance of an area once initial reduction in numbers is achieved.

Some of the selective poisoning systems I understand are in development sound impressive. They can tell the difference between "Visitors" and as you say, radio for more supplies when empty. The concept is to build a defensive ring around cleared areas to slow down re-infestation. Let's hope.