Once possums have been removed, a detection network will be installed to identify any possums that return to the area and any possum detected will be removed.<\/p>\n
According to the Department of Conservation, possums have a significant impact on many of New Zealand\u2019s natural ecosystems.<\/p>\n
Leaves are the main part of their diet, but possums are opportunistic omnivores, and eat native birds and their eggs, land snails such as Powelliphanta and invertebrates, including weta.<\/p>\n
They also eat buds, flowers, fruit, berries and nectar, which means they compete with native birds and reptiles for food sources.<\/p>\n
The Whakatipu Mahia – Predator Free Mahia spokesperson said once possums are removed from the peninsula, the forest there will naturally regenerate.<\/p>\n
Native animal species are also expected to return and experience improved breeding success without the threat of possum predation.<\/p>\n
Once the possum has been removed, the organisation will move its sights to eradicating other pest species like rodents and mustelids from the area.<\/p>\n
Hawke\u2019s Bay Regional Council chair Sophie Siers said the new funding was a vital step in protecting Mahia Peninsula\u2019s environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt lets us complete the work we started in 2018 and secure the peninsula for the future. Removing possums strengthens our native forests, protects farms, and keeps us on track for Predator Free 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n
Predator Free 2050 is a plan from the Government to eradicate all introduced predators in New Zealand by 2050.<\/p>\n
Hawke\u2019s Bay regional councillor for the Wairoa constituency Di Roadley said the Mahia community had been an integral part of the project by reporting possum sightings and sharing local knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we look ahead, the community will continue to play a key role in keeping Mahia possum-free, building on the work we\u2019ve done together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next goal for Whakatipu Mahia \u2013 Predator Free Mahia is to establish a kiwi sanctuary alongside Kiwis for Kiwi planning to use the area as a kiwi creche, but details are still to be confirmed.<\/p>\n
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke\u2019s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once possums have been removed, a detection network will be installed to identify any possums that return to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[22509,7793,11231,31579,6932,13574,71,738,1976,5838,23335,685,80178,3025,111,139,69,3111,48375,57479,75600,147,61,406,122260],"class_list":["post-198473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-areas","tag-bays","tag-boost","tag-boosted","tag-cash","tag-efforts","tag-from","tag-funding","tag-hawkes","tag-help","tag-injection","tag-last","tag-mahia","tag-most","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-out","tag-peninsula","tag-picturesque","tag-possums","tag-science","tag-to","tag-wildlife","tag-wipe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}