Coromandel possums

Forest and Bird, Volume 23, Issue 2, 1 May 1992, Page 4

Coromandel possums

THE DEPARTMENT of Conservation wants to create a possum-free haven in the Coromandel. DoC is negotiating with local landowners at the top of the peninsula to put an electrified possum fence from coast to coast. DoC’s Waikato operations manager, John Gaukrodger, says that the project is significantly different from other possum control efforts. "The objective is to remove all possums from a mainland area rather than simply control populations to the lowest practical density," he said. If successful, it would be a major conservation feat. The proposed fence is one component in a major programme to rid a part of the peninsula of possums. The northern end of the peninsula, particularly, contains forest relatively unmodified by possums including the Moehau range in Coromandel Forest Park which is

home to a number of endangered plants and animals. Such pristine areas are now rare on the mainland and DoC had up to 10 professional hunters systematically working through the north Coromandel forest with the aim of removing all possums from Cape Colville south to a line near Waikawau Bay. Traps and dog teams, such as those used in the successful Codfish Island eradication campaign, have proven the

most effective method of control, and Gaukrodger said few, if any, possums had survived in areas already covered and checked. The Moehau team has combed 6,000 hectares since 1989 killing 4,000 possums. They keep careful daily records and identify hot spots for the second sweep through with the dogs. The fence will be made of woven hexagonal mesh just under a metre in height, with

a timber base section dug into the ground. It will have strategically placed wire on outriggers to stop stock and wild pig pressure as well as to stop possums crossing. The design has been through extensive trials with wild-caught possums at the Ruakura Animal Research Centre. John Gaukrodger said the value of the fence was that it would provide a physical barrier to the possums, in addition to the permanent trap lines and bait stations along the southern boundary of the area. He said that the traps and bait stations, coupled with an intensively-trapped buffer zone to the south of the fence, should greatly reduce the probability of possums reaching the fence itself. The department has been exploring a number of routes for the fence. It hopes to work cooperatively with local residents and landowners and to have the fence operating by the end of next summer.