Hello to you all I have recently updated the trapping numbers for our valuable sponsors traps here on the website We have regularly checked and maintained our trapping network throughout the summer autumn period and the results have been exciting

We staff members of Rotorua Canopy Tours spend most days in the forest and it is very satisfying to watch the forest change and improve from season to season Rotorua is very lucky to have such an amazing pristine remnant piece of forest on its doorstep and to have it as an office is something else many times I find myself stopping looking and listening at the many beautiful sites in the bush

We have noticed the plants that are favoured by Possums have improved in health measurably since their removal in September where once there were browsed tree tops everywhere and the ground was littered with discarded possum browse there is now lush green vegetation and almost no sign of possums at all

Captured pest numbers have fluctuated over the summer autumn period which is possibly due to the amazing fruiting season the trees had as previously posted the seed from the Tawa Miro and Rimu was in some places so thick it covered the ground This large amount of food largely sat where it fell and slowly rotted returning its nutrient to the trees that produced it while the birds that live there and their new born babies most of which survived to fledging due the huge reduction in rats have had a bumper time gorging on the forests bounty

This glut of seed was also a huge bonus for the pests as well we recorded a steady decline in rat numbers over spring and summer with a rise in numbers as autumn produced its bounty the numbers of rats has peaked and is now declining again in the area we are monitoring

It is chilling to think what would of happened to the birds in this area once the seed had run out with a huge hungry predator population unleashed upon them Unfortunately this is what happens all over NZ every year but we at Rotorua Canopy Tours are doing everything in our power to make sure every native animal in the Dansey Road Scenic Reserve is safe from now on

The pest control program is in full swing with the contribution from our customers and sponsors ensuring the project is being successful we are so very grateful to all the wonderful people who have helped so far and we are always excited about what the future holds as this little piece of New Zealand has stopped fading away and begins to shine again