The Local - Mt VictoriaMount Victoria’s backyard trapping group is continuing to grow, with another 73 households joining Predator Free Mount Victoria in 2023, taking the total to 679 households.
But only around 50 members logged catches in 2023, prompting coordinator Paul Toohey to call for members to ‘get those traps up and running again’.
“There must be a lot of traps either unused or with records not being captured,” Paul relayed to the group via Facebook.
“From those 50 we had 1,186 catches recorded. Of those, around 50% came from our top 2 trappers who are dedicated individuals that look after many traps each.”
A heat map of the recorded catches shows the numbers are heavily weighted towards the Hataitai side of the maunga.
Mice were reported in the highest numbers (390) , closely followed by rats (351), then hedgehogs (10), however 433 catches were not specified.
Removing predators was helping native birds and lizards recover their numbers, Paul Touhey said.
“The now frequent sound and sight of the Kaka and friends in the town belt and our gardens is our reward.”
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