Why predator free islands will help save endangered species

To protect their threatened animals from extinction, New Zealand is creating safe havens for wildlife

Cape to City. Project Janszoon. A number of ecological restoration projects are currently taking place across New Zealand, nurturing the growth of vast ecosystems to enable indigenous fauna and flora to thrive on the land as it once did.

Rats, possums and stoats – these are the greatest threat to the country’s wildlife. Introduced by man, these predators have devastated New Zealand’s birdlife, reptiles and invertebrates, pushing a number of species to near extinction. Every year, 25 million birds are lost.

Unique challenge

The time has come to take action, and New Zealand has responded. It has devised an unprecedented goal: to become predator free by 2050.

The initiative comes with the simple aim of freeing the country of those non-indigenous species.

All previous efforts have failed and the cost of doing so has been considerable; controlling these species currently costs more than $70 million a year.

A number of organisations are involved in this unique challenge, investing in predator management projects and research. Indeed, some organisations have even set about creating their own predator free spaces — charity Kiwis for kiwi, for example, is working in association with Old Mout Cider on the upkeep of predator- free islands off the coast of the mainland.

These environments are designed to protect the endangered kiwi. One such habitat is Kapiti Island. Five km off the coast of North Island, it is New Zealand’s oldest nature reserve, a home to all-manner of native birds – from the weka to the takahē – and specifically, a safe haven for the kiwi.

Perhaps the most important facet of the Predator Free 2050 challenge, however, is that it has the support of the people of New Zealand. Tens of thousands of volunteers, and a number of landowners, work together every day in the fight to reclaim their natural landscape.

Join Old Mout Cider in the fight to help save the kiwi by signing up to the campaign.

Take the quiz: What endangered animal are you?

*This content was commissioned and approved by Old Mout Cider