Wilding Pines, Feral Goats

It’s not just the 70 million possums. The New Zealand ecosystem is also under attack from a long list, including wilding pines and feral goats. We noticed a widespread die-off of pines in the hills along Queen Charlotte Sound. Turns out it’s a kill-off. The DOC and local conservation groups banded together to drill into the invasive pines and inject them with poison. This is the first step in restoring the area. Next, the dead pines will be removed and then the area will be planted with native trees. 

The feral goats, descendants of imported goats that escaped the station and fled to the hills, are trickier combatants. To kill them, DOC hired hunters in helicopters to reduce the goat population, culling 400 in one year. I hope the hunters collected the carcasses and used them. I have not seen a single vulture. 

There is a campaign here called “Predator-Free by 2050” hiring trappers and teaching citizens to trap and kill stoats, rats, possums, ferrets, and weasels. The eradication of these predators is estimated to cost NZ$8 Billion. The feral ruminants are not part of this campaign. It interests me that Kiwi conservationists focus on killing. They missed preserving the Moa, but succeeded in exterminating a pesky parrot, the Rainbow Lorikeet.