Category: wildlife ecology

Kiwi: now in 3D

‘Coming soon in 3D!’ Periodically throughout my life movie-makers have dabbled with making films that we can watch in three dimensions. You would get your special glasses before the movie session and then sit there wondering when to put them on until the action got going.

To be honest I don’t remember many of the movies that I saw like this. The Avatar movies have always had the option and I watched at least the second movie this way. Spears and monsters would lunge out of the screen at you.

Other than that I am drawing a blank. This is not to say that every 3D movie is bad but just that 3D on its own doesn’t make a film more memorable.

Avatar Adrian! Look out for the arrow!

I don’t even dislike the experience despite having to wear the 3D glasses over my own glasses. There is something immersive about dodging things ‘coming out of the screen’. However, I seldom choose this option if 2D is available. It all seems a bit too much like work perhaps?

Adding a third dimension can help with appreciating scale and movement though. It can also help with identifying who’s who in the screen – there’s just a bit more information that your brain can use.

Identifying individuals is a big deal in biology, especially conservation. When you have a small population you are interested in individuals. How are they doing? Are they breeding? Who do they hang out with?

Of course, for many species there are not a lot of features to differentiate between individuals. They are similar in height, uniform in coloration, and have similar behaviours.

To make them more distinctive we could always band our target with bright colours or paint an obvious mark on them but this involves capturing and interacting with the individual. This causes a great deal of stress and catching individuals is not always simple.

Ideally we could use cameras to take pictures that we could measure features in that are unique to an individual. Two dimensional pictures require an individual to be in an exact place with an exact orientation for this to work. So this is not a reliable method.

Bit wait! … Coming soon in 3D!

It turns out that if you take pictures with different devices from slightly different angles at the same moment then you can much more accurately calculate measurements on individuals. At least in theory.

Jane Tansell with her trusty kiwi dog. Picture from Jane Tansell.

Jane Tansell, a recently completed PhD student at Lincoln University, and her supervisors, Adrian Paterson and James Ross, set out to see if we could use this idea to identify kiwi. Kiwi populations and individuals are difficult to measure. They are nocturnal, usually found in scrubby terrain, are reasonably featureless, and spend a lot of time in burrows. We can use trained dogs to find them but this is quite stressful for kiwi. We can listen to their calls during the night but this is difficult to split into different individuals and certain parts of the population don’t call anyway.

Trail cameras have been used to successfully locate kiwi. Jane wondered if she could pair cameras 12-25 cm apart, taking images that could be used to essentially create a 3D image of features on each bird. Jane knew that kiwi bills vary between individuals and can be used as an ID.

Jane worked with the more technically literate Maurice Kasprowsky and Tom Gray to cobble together the cameras and get them to work together.

Jane, as reported in NZ Journal of Zoology, first tried the setup on a taxidermied kiwi in good light conditions. She found that the cameras could be used to measure the bills to within 1.5% of their actual length. This was a great achievement and would certainly be able to determine individuals.

In theory we should be able to photograph kiwi and recognise them by measuring their bills. Image from Adrian Paterson.

Jane then set up field trials with live kiwi. In the real world, with low light and moving birds the cameras were less efficient. At worst they were terrible but often they were within 3-4% of the actual bill length. This is not good enough to replace current field identification methods but it was still quite impressive given the relatively jury-rigged setup.

Improvements in cameras, especially 3D cameras, are happening quite quickly. With some more trial and error Jane should be able to start reducing the error enough for this to be a viable noninvasive method for following kiwi in the field.

While this is not as exciting as an arrow flying at you from an Avatar movie, this use of 3D does have real world uses that will help with understanding a national icon!

The author, Adrian Paterson, is a lecturer in the Department of Pest-management and Conservation at Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University. Adrian is a kiwi but unfortunately has no bill to measure.

February 4, 2026
Tackling feral cats in Aotearoa New Zealand

Feral cats (Felis catus) are among the most proficient and effective hunters in the world. In Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), their skills are lethal to native species that have evolved without mammalian predators. Feral cats have been linked to significant biodiversity declines across the country. Cats are opportunistic predators that hunt ground-breeding species, like birds, bats, reptiles and even some insects- many of which are endemic.

Fig 1: It looks like siblings fighting over a small bird, a moment that captures the competitive behavior of feral cats (Image by- Gilbert Mercier, Flicker User

The extinctions of six endemic birds are linked to feral cats. Well-known cases include a single cat, Tibble, that caused the extinction of NZ’s only flightless song bird: Lyall’s Wren on Stephens Island. A single cat killed 120 endangered native short-tailed bats in one week on Mt. Ruapehu. Dotterel populations on Stewart Island, Grand and Otago skink populations in southern ANZ are at risk due to feral cats. The list of species pushed to the verge of extinction by cats is long and growing.

Yet despite their impact, feral cats are not currently included in NZ’s Predator Free 2050 campaign. This raises a major question: how is NZ tackling the feral cat problem?

With growing concern for native wildlife, the government has implemented several methods to eradicate or control cats: lethal baiting, trapping, shooting, and fencing. While putting these methods into action is necessary, it’s equally important to ask their effectiveness: Are they actually working? And how can we tell?

Fig 2: Feral cat awareness at Arthur’s Pass Wildlife Trust (Photo credit: Muhammad Waseem (used with permission)).

These were the very questions a group of researchers from Lincoln University set out to explore. Using camera traps, they conducted a study on Hawke’s Bay farmland to test whether trapping and shooting could effectively control feral cat population, and whether the area will be re-invaded over time, to measure the effectiveness of the method.

Forty motion-sensitive cameras stood beside the traps like sentinels, monitoring everything. Cats walked into the view, lured by rabbit meat and ferret scent. The cameras recorded activities before, during, and six months after the control operation. Before the operation 20 cats were detected. 17 feral cats were then removed (shot). The result? An 84% drop in both cat numbers and camera detections.

Aware of the risk of reinvasion, the researchers monitored the site again six months later- and detected only three new cats. The outcome was encouraging and demonstrated how proper methods combined with well-monitored action can make real difference. With the help of camera traps, the research could measure the effectiveness of the control operation and can suggest similar methods in areas facing feral cat issues.

Today, thanks to advanced technology like camera traps, monitoring has become much more efficient and convenient. This allows conservationists to evaluate their methodologies, observe activities remotely, and respond effectively.

How did cats become a serious ecological problem in NZ?

In my home country of Nepal, cats are seen as beloved pet and, traditionally, the guardians of grain stores, not as an ecological threat. As someone new to NZ conservation practice, I initially found the conservation method used in this study confronting. But the more I learned, the more curious I became: how did a country with no native mammalian predators come to see cats as such a serious problem?

Fig 3: Stray cat basking sun on Fairmaid Street, Lincoln (Photo: Author 04/01/2025)

Cats didn’t arrive in NZ until the mid-1800s. Earlier cats had visited along with Captain James Cook. His ship, plagued by rodents, carried cats as a solution to control pests and protect food supplies.

European settlers brought cats as companions. Some escaped or were abandoned, eventually forming a wild population. Ironically, many animals (and even people) arriving by ships ended up becoming invasive. Over time, their arrival became strongly linked with biodiversity loss.

Today the feral cats are officially recognised as invasive predators. They not only kill native wildlife but also spread disease. It is no coincidence that many native birds began to disappear after cats were introduced. In the NZ conservation story, it’s not unusual to say: “To solve one problem often means creating another!”.

Although some early impacts were noticed, such as the extinction of the Stephen Island wren, surprising these events were simply viewed with the mindset as nature improving, where invasive species were seen as improvement rather than threats.

Cats, whether brought to control rodents or to ease the settler’s solitude, may have served a short-term purpose, but over time introducing them proved to be a double-edged sword, causing severe harm to NZ’s native wildlife.

Learning this made me realize that today’s conservation challenges are deeply connected to historical choices!

Moving ahead

While we cannot re-write history, we can certainly learn from it!

Fig 4: Who decided which story to tell? The Great Hall stained-glass window at University of Canterbury made from 4,000 pieces of glass, showing Captain James Cook at number 19 (Photo: author 02/05/2025).

The journey of cats in NZ is a classic reminder of how small actions can have a large ecological impact. The feral cat issue isn’t just about one species nor is it the only invasive challenge NZ faces, it’s about how we approach conservation in a complex and ever-changing environment.

Looking back, we don’t know how much damage to NZ’s biodiversity could have been prevented or reduced if the scale of damage was understood earlier. As the country continues its battle against introduced species to conserve biodiversity through Predator Free 2050 campaign, integrating reliable monitoring tools like camera traps will be crucial in making informed and effective conservation decisions.

The author, Pareena Khadka, is a postgraduate student in the Master of Applied Science at Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University. This article was written as an assessment for ECOL 608 Research Methods in Ecology.

Paper reference: Nichols, M., Glen, A. S., Ross, J., Gormley, A. M., & Garvey, P. M. (2023). Evaluating the effectiveness of a feral cat control operation using camera traps. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 47(1), Article 3501. https://dx.doi.org/10.20417/nzjecol.47.3501

December 1, 2025
The three bird-iteers: all for monitoring and monitoring for all!

My time at Lincoln University has taught me that when it comes to bird monitoring, the most common practice is the 5 minute bird count (5MBC). This method is a simple and effective way of counting birds within a specific area by recording sightings and calls. Much of the time, using 5BMC, it is likely that you will not see the bird you are hearing, which is why being able to identify New Zealand birds just by sound is a very good skill.

Lincoln University legend Jon Sullivan did a study on different bird data collection methods that could also mahi together to build a more accurate picture of birds in an area. The study focused on wider Christchurch, beginning in 2003, and recorded patterns in bird species within the area.

One method that was used was the stationary method , which is pretty much the same as the 5MBC but is extended to 20 minutes. The other method used was the ‘mobile method’, also known as the ‘line-transect method’, where you collect data while moving at a fast pace, perhaps by bike, car, or running.

Now to the fun stuff – birds!!

In Jon’s study there was a focus on three bird species, which I call the three bird-iteers (with apologies to Alexandre Dumas). These are the grey warbler, fantail and the bellbird. These endemic birds are very adaptable to recent changes for forest bird species.

Grey Warbler

The grey warbler (Gerygone igata, riroriro) are found throughout New Zealand. They are small, grey/brown with a more pale shade of grey for the face to throat. They weigh approximately 6.5 g (lighter than a mouse) and their diet consists of insects and spiders.

Grey Warbler. Photo CC BY Mikullashbee, Flickr

Fantail/pīwakawaka

Fantails are one of my many favourite bird species, as they love to follow humans around when you are on bush walks. Fantails are able to adapt to environments that have been changed by humans, which is not very common for New Zealand native birds. Fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa, piwakawaka) are often found in open native bush, exotic plantation forests, orchards and gardens. Their diet consists of insects, especially small species. Fantails are a small bird about the size of a house sparrow, but what makes them so distinctive? Well the answer is in their name…. Yes their tails, like their name suggests they have a long tail that fans out like a well a fan.

Fantail. Photo CC By Chris S, Flickr

Bellbird/ Korimako

Bellbirds(Anthornis melanura, koromiko)are commonly found in the South Island. These birds have a short, curved beak and are green with a slightly forked tail. Bellbirds, similar to Tūī’, have a distinctive song, it is like a high ringing that’s also kind of smooth, and the repeat the same tune. Bellbirds reside throughout native and exotic forest, scrubs and shelter belts of New Zealand. Their diet is nectar from native and exotic plants, although they do consume fruit in late summer and autumn. Also their diet consists of honeydew that’s found on beech trees.

Bellbird. Photo CC By Glenda Rees, Flickr

Back to the study

Jon Sullivan wanted to understand how nature responds to a forever changing world. He collected distribution and abundance information for many species with these three species being the focus. This is where the methods came into play as a standardised method and a repeatable one is needed to accurately tell us if a species is present or not. The methods talked about above were to work alongside each other.

Around 100,000 bird counts were collected. The approach used helped to summarise data that was from one location, a certain time each week, and one daily route. The results showed that this approach was effective and just as effective as the 5 minute bird count. Counting birds while riding your bike along a road was just as effective at estimating and following trends as more traditional methods.

Fantails, grey warblers, and bellbirds (but not to the same extent as the other 2) are majorly restricted to their forest biotopes and native plantings, particularly in spring.

Like any good study, more data are needed to get a better and clearer understanding. This could create a good opportunity at Lincoln University to teach students doing ecology to learn how to use different techniques besides just the 5MBC methods. Then we too can collect decades long information on our favourite birds.

This article was prepared by postgraduate student Caitlan Christmas, Masters of Science in Ecology and Conservation, for an assignment in ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology.

Sullivan，JJ（2012). Recording birds in real time: a convenient method for frequent bird recording https://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/04dc8df3-2e34-4fe9-96a6-ea8a505ad0cc/content

November 11, 2025
Silent hunters on the wetland edge: urban cats and nature conservation

The dark side of the cat

Cats doing what cats do.
Photo by Robert | Visual Diary | Berlin on Unsplash

In the autumn evening, a cat lies on the fence, with focused eyes and slightly wagging tail, this patient hunter is quietly locking onto a target and preparing to attack.

Cats are the standard feature in almost neighbourhoods in New Zealand. They are elegant, lazy, affectionate, and sometimes unpredictable. Some of them are pretty welcomed , moving freely around neighbourhoods everyday, accepting feeding and petting.

Behind these soft furs and friendlypurring, there is an ancient, untamed instinct hidden – hunting. Hunting is not just about hunger. Most cats were are well-fed—some are even fed multiple times a day. Yet, the urge to stalk, chase, and kill remains.

Travis Wetland: A natural island in the city

Wetlands, green spaces, and bushes are the last shelter for local plants and animals. These “ecological islands” are often located right next to the communities where we live.

Travis Wetland is a freshwater ecological oasis, located on the edge of Christchurch. Surrounded by residential areas, roads, and commercial development, it remains a vital refuge for more than 53 species of birds and many native invertebrates.

Living around this wetland, there are hundreds of free-moving domestic cats living. They can walk through the grass without permission, quietly enter the ecological core area, and become hunters of these small lives.

A Patient Hunter
Photo by Kristin O Karlsen on Unsplash

Silent pressure & hidden trail

It is easy for people to imagine a cat lazily lying in the sun by a windowsill, but what about the other side of their life when they step out the door?

Over the course of a year, 21 pet cats living near Travis Wetland were installed with GPS collars as part of a study by Lincoln University and the Christchurch City Council. The research, led in part by Shelley Morgan and Adrian Paterson, revealed some surprising results.

Researchers did not capture many cats with prey in their mouths (although more than a few did bring their prey back to their home). But there were other situations: cats were often visiting the edge of the ecological core of the wetland, where native birds, lizards and insects breed.

Fantail(Rhipidura fuliginosa)
Photo by Callum Hill on Unsplash

The cat threat does not necessarily come from killing, sometimes, just “attending” is enough. Birds may abandon their nests if they sense a nearby predator. Lizards may interrupt their mating if they feel targeted. In nature, energy is precious, and fear itself is also consumes energy.

More than half of the monitored cats entered Travis wetland at least once. Some of them went more than 200 metres into the wetland while their owners sleeping, crossing habitats and breeding areas for rare native lizards, insects and ground-nesting birds.

More than half of the monitored cats entered Travis Wetland at least once. Some of them went more than 200 metres into the wetland while their owners sleeping, crossing habitats and breeding areas for rare native lizards, insects and ground-nesting birds.

But not every cat causes the same amount of harm.The study found that younger cats—those under six years old—were more active and risky. They travelled further, spent longer inside the wetland, and brought home more prey. Some even swam across water to reach nesting islands. In contrast, older cats tended to stay near home and moved less.

A small number of energetic cats were doing most of the damage. Researchers called them “super-predators”. This suggests that cat behaviour and age both matter. While most cats seem harmless, a few individuals can quietly cause serious impacts to local wildlife.

This means the cat you see curled up by the fireplace in the afternoon may be walking the narrow line between urban life and ecological harm at night. It’s not the cat’s fault, and it’s not your fault, but it’s keep happening.

Cat by the Window
Photo by Aleksandar Popovski on Unsplash

Night walkers & tiny bells

Cats are typical “crepuscular” animals, that is, they are most active in the dawn and dusk. This explains why you see cats running around the living room at 10 pm or staring at the wall at 5 am. They don’t listen to a clock, they listen to the call of instinct.

Sunset and just after is also the time when many cats go out for their “night patrols”. According to the data from the study’s cat GPS tracking, cats move more frequently and walk farther at night. Some cats hardly go out during the day, only sneaking through the garden and visiting the fields after dark.

So, what can we do to reduce the impact of out furry friends? Some owners hang small bells on their cats’ collars, hoping that the sound will alert potential prey and give them time to escape. This method seems simple and effective, but the effect actually varies from species to species.

There is a study by University of Otago have shown that bells have a certain deterrent effect on birds and the study by Geiger shown that have little effect on lizards or insects because they are not sensitive to sound. Also some smart cats can even learn to “walk silently” – so that the bell doesn’t ring at all.

Nightwalker Cat
Photo by amir esfahanian on Unsplash

So, while bells may help a little, they are not a panacea. As with everything in this story, the answers are never simple.

Draw a ceasefire zone

Some solutions are simple, and others need some creativity.

In some parts of New Zealand, there is talk of creating a cat-isolation buffer zones — areas around nature reserves where cats are either required to be kept indoors full-time, or where cats are banned or a curfew(Wellington City Council. 2024) is imposed on cats near reserves (although curfews seem not work for protecting birds or lizards)

This idea is not to punish cat owners but to protect the most vulnerable parts of the ecosystem. Because may be the problem is that house cats may be found curled up in warm blankets, purring softly, eyes half-closed, and when just hours earlier, those paws may have landed a fatal blow on a small bird, or pinned a native skink to the ground.

Free-roaming cats in New Zealand are subject to different local management depending on their relationship with humans (such as companion cats, stray cats, and wild cats), but there is currently a lack of unified national laws(Sumner, C. L. 2022).

Threatened-Nationally Critical Skink: Alborn Skinks(Oligosoma albornense)
Photo by James Reardon

Some newly built areas even state in the purchase agreement that cats are not allowed to roam freely, and sometimes even completely prohibit cats(Preston, N. 2023).

To some people, such regulations may sounds really extreme. But to naturalists, it is a way of respecting boundaries, a quiet commitment to leave even a small area and keep distance for the creatures that have lived here long before we came here.

We would much rather have this scenario: ‘In the autumn evening, a cat looks out of a window at a fence, with focused eyes and slightly wagging tail, this patient hunter is quietly locking onto a target that it would love to attack. Frustrated, it curls up and goes back to sleep.’

This article was prepared by Master of Pest Management postgraduate student Linfeng Yu as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

Research paper: Morgan, S. A., Hansen, C. M., Ross, J. G., Hickling, G. J., Ogilvie, S. C., & Paterson, A. M. (2009). Urban cat (Felis catus) movement and predation activity associated with a wetland reserve in New Zealand. Wildlife Research, 36(7), 574–580. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR09023

References

Geiger, M., Kistler, C., Mattmann, P., Jenni, L., Hegglin, D., & Bontadina, F. (2022). Colorful Collar-Covers and Bells Reduce Wildlife Predation by Domestic Cats in a Continental European Setting. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.850442

Housing development near Auckland imposes cat ban to protect wildlife. (n.d.). 1News. Retrieved 5 May 2025, from https://www.1news.co.nz/2021/08/11/housing-development-near-auckland-imposes-cat-ban-to-protect-wildlife/

Preston, N. (2023, July 1). No cats allowed: Growing number of new neighbourhoods banning pets. Oneroof. https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/no-cats-allowed-growing-number-of-new-neighbourhoods-banning-pets-43855

Responsible cat ownership. (2024, October 17). Wellington City Council. https://wellington.govt.nz/dogs-and-other-animals/cats/responsible-cat-ownership

Sumner, C. L., Walker, J. K., & Dale, A. R. (2022). The Implications of Policies on the Welfare of Free-Roaming Cats in New Zealand. Animals, 12(3), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12030237

October 22, 2025
Cat conundrum: Conservation, cameras, and capricious companions

You are probably well aware of the feral cat issues here in Aotearoa New Zealand and the detrimental impact that cats are causing in our unique whenua (land). However, if you are new here, let me get you up to speed. The popularity of these adorable companions –1,134,000 companion cats and 196,000 strays, to be accurate – has come with a tremendous cost to native wildlife in Aotearoa New Zealand.

With over a decade of experience in the veterinary industry, I’ve witnessed animal welfare concerns from both perspectives. I’ve seen the devastating impact cats can have on native wildlife, as well as the suffering of unwell, neglected feral cats. This dual perspective made becoming a cat owner myself all the more meaningful, thanks to a foster failure named Professor (pictured below), who quickly stole my heart. After adopting him, it was an easy decision to create a comfortable indoor life for him. Knowing the toll that cats can take on wildlife populations and thinking about his health and safety, it was an obvious decision for me to keep him as an indoor cat. But unfortunately, 196,000 cats in Aotearoa New Zealand do not have the cushy indoor lifestyle that Professor has become accustomed to.

Learn about what the experts have to say on cat management here: https://predatorfreenz.org/stories/animal-welfare-agencies-views-on-cat-management/

Professor the foster failure. Original image by Chloe Mc Menamin.

Now what does the science say about monitoring cats that don’t have a cushy indoor lifestyle? In 2019 a team of scientists at Lincoln University carried out a study to better understand just that. They deployed a camera detection system across two pastoral sites in the Hawke’s Bay region. One system was placed systematically (on a grid) and the other strategically (placement where the researchers believed cat activity would be the highest). Their goal was to compare which camera trap placements would be the most effective method for monitoring feral cat populations. While feral cats are notoriously difficult to detect due to their low densities and cryptic behaviours, these researchers did get some interesting results!

During a telephone interview, with primary author Dr. Margaret Nichols (Maggie), Maggie cheerfully shared how she began to question the use of her time after processing countless images of hedgehogs enjoying the smell and feel of the ferret pheromones used to lure in the cats. Then things took a surreal turn when she found herself pondering reality itself—prompted by turkeys performing what looked suspiciously like synchronised dances.

But, dear reader, that wasn’t the only captivating creature caught on camera. No! The top-featured animal was… you guessed it… a sheep! Yes, you read that correctly. A single sheep nearly drove Maggie to madness after it camped out in front of one of her cameras for four entire days, triggering over 500,000 images. Poor Maggie! I’d be pulling the wool from my jumper too if I had to process that many sheep shots. Surprisingly, cats turned out to be the least detected animals of all—truly showcasing their cryptic behaviour and highlighting just how important this research was to carry out.

Against all odds Maggie and her colleagues persevered – through the thousands of sheep, hedgehogs and dancing turkey’s images to reveal a striking discovery. Camera traps placed at the forest margins detected more cats compared to those in mixed scrub or open farmland. Specifically, at forest margin an average of 3 cats were detected per night at Site 1 (Toronui Station made up of a mixture of open farmland and native forest) and 1.7 cats at Site 2 (Cape to City ecological restoration area). This compelling pattern suggests that strategic placement of cameras in these areas is likely to maximise cat detection. Hats off to Maggie and the team, what a cool discovery.

Hedgehog self-anointing after contact with the pheromone. Image source Research Gate (Garvey., nd)

Well, there you have it reader – strategic camera placement at forest margins in the Hawke’s Bay area is the most effective way to monitor feral cats, but this is just the beginning of cat monitoring research in Aotearoa New Zealand. If you are like me and feeling inspired by Maggie and her colleagues’ findings, you might also be wondering where to even start tackling the feral cat population in your local area.

While science and data are fascinating, the telephone interview with Maggie wisely reminded me that the best part of her research experience were the organisations and the people involved along the way, particularly the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council , Predator Free South Westland, and Lincoln University. She reported that working with various stakeholders made the project not only successful but also deeply rewarding. She also noted that all research projects take more time than you think and to never underestimate the possibility of processing 500,000 sheep photos when doing camera monitoring!

Image of feral cat caught on camera during study. Orginal image provided by Dr. Margaret Nichols

What a great reminder that in life it’s not just about success or how long things take; it’s about the experiences and friendships you make along the way. Thank you, Maggie, for sharing that wisdom.

This article was prepared by Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Science student Chloe McMenamin as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

Now reader it is over to you, want to learn more about how you can help? Check out the The National Cat Management Strategy Group, or if you want to learn more about feral cats here in Aotearoa New Zealand check out what the Department of Conservation has to say.

Read full study here:
Nichols, M., Ross, J., Glen, A. S., & Paterson, A. M. (2019). An evaluation of systematic versus strategically-placed camera traps for monitoring feral cats in New Zealand. Animals, 9(9), 687. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090687

Image refernce:

Garvey, P,M. (nd). FigS3: Hedgehog self-anointing after contact with the pheromone/kairomone vial [Supplemental material]. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311713979_FigS3_Hedgehog_self-anointing_after_contact_with_the_pheromone_kairomone_vial

October 7, 2025
Wings of change: Protecting parrots where they belong

I had always wanted a parrot as a kid.

My obsession was inspired by Meena, a Bangladeshi animated TV series created by UNICEF, where the protagonist, Meena, had a clever parrot named Mithu who could speak and even help with homework from school. In the very first episode, Meena wishes to go to school, but her parents don’t think it is worth educating a female, a sad reality in many Asian countries, even now.

Determined to learn, Meena finds a creative solution: Mithu goes to class for her, memorising the lessons and teaching her later. Having grown up with this story and often seeing parrots caged in people’s houses, I had subconsciously believed that parrots were meant to be pets, friends to humans rather than untamed animals.

That belief was shattered the first time I saw a flock of parrots flying freely in the jungle. As I saw them calling to one another, I came to see that they were more than simply colourful birds living in cages; they had families, friendships, and a world of their own.

And then another surprising revelation struck me: Mithu wasn’t even a parrot; he was a parakeet! I discovered the distinction during my first birdwatching trip as an undergraduate. In that moment, I realised how early influences, particularly those from television, can shape, and sometimes mislead our views of the natural world.

A caged rose-ringed parakeet © Geoff McKay / Flickr

This memory came flooding back as I read about kea (Nestor notabilis), a playful and highly intelligent alpine parrot of New Zealand. Unlike the caged parakeets of Nepal, kea are renowned for their curious nature, a trait that has both fascinated and frustrated humans. Kea are unique among parrots. Their sharp intelligence and flexibility have allowed them to survive in the harsh alpine conditions of the South Island of New Zealand.

Using observations in a plantation-native forest matrix, a team of researchers led by Aitken in 2023 conducted a study in the Whakatipu Kā Tuka (Dart-Rees Watershed) area and discovered that kea were commonly seen in plantation forests. These birds, although strongly associated with alpine and native forest habitats, spent a surprising amount of time in exotic plantation woods, probably because these managed landscapes offered new foraging options.

Aitken also tracked individual kea and mapped their home range and habitat use using VHF (Very High Frequency) radio transmitters that were attached to three individuals as lightweight backpacks. This method confirmed the keas’ active usage of plantation forests, not only for foraging but also as part of their usual range, and helped to better understand how they navigate various settings over time.

This kind of fine-scale tracking is relatively new for kea and adds an important layer to our understanding of their behaviour in human-modified landscapes. However, it is worth noting that catching wild kea for such work is not a small feat – thanks to their sharp beaks and mischievous personalities!

A kea in its natural habitat CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 fremat/Flickr

Kea are opportunistic omnivores that consume a wide variety of foods, ranging from seeds, native fruits, nectar, to even meat from dead animals. Jodanne Aitken, a PhD student at Lincoln University, found that although kea frequently fed on seeds from Pinus radiata trees in plantation forests, their poop told a fuller story. The faeces was full of insects and other invertebrates, showing just how flexible and opportunistic their diet really is. In plantation forests, they take advantage of exotic tree species and the insects that come with them.

In contrast to many birds that avoid human-dominated landscapes, kea seem to do OK in them; curious and always eager to explore.The study also found that kea were more active in the morning and that their behavior changes with seasons, possibly linked to food availability or breeding. What’s truly fascinating is how their sharp intelligence allows them to survive not just in harsh alpine conditions, but also learn how to make the most out of new environments, like the pine plantations.

Jodanne in action detecting kea. Image by Adrian Paterson

Just like Mithu, the parakeet from my childhood who memorized lessons for Meena, kea are constantly learning from their surroundings. It is this intelligence, combined with their bold and exploratory nature that makes them such incredible survivors.

While plantation forests provide new foraging grounds, they may also expose kea to new threats. This raises a vital question: are we simply giving kea new places to forage, or are we asking them to survive in habitats that may not fully meet their needs? Human-modified landscapes, while rich in opportunity, also bring risks such as increased exposure to toxins like lead or conflict with people. These findings offer hope for kea resilience in human-altered habitats, while also informing future forest management practices.

On the other hand, the parakeets of Nepal, such as the Alexandrine and Rose-ringed parakeets, are often kept as pets, and their social skills and intellect are used for human entertainment rather than for their survival. The thought of birds with such intricate habits and close social ties being denied their natural life saddens me.

Wild parakeets form large flocks, communicating and interacting in their own ways across wide-ranging Himalayan landscapes. Unfortunately, they face growing threats from habitat loss due to urban expansion, deforestation and especially the illegal pet trade. In fact, both Alexandrine and Rose-ringed parakeets are among the most commonly trapped and sold birds in south Asia. Without stronger awareness and conservation action, their role as seed dispersers and forest connectors may be lost.

While it is heartbreaking to see parakeets in cages, it is crucial to remember that simply releasing pet birds into the wild isn’t the solution. Doing so can introduce diseases to native bird populations or create invasive species that disrupt ecosystems, as has happened in parts of the world where feral parrot colonies now compete with native wildlife. The real solution is prevention: parrots should never be taken from the wild in the first place. Instead, our focus should be on protecting their habitats and fostering respect for their role in nature.

What if we saw Nepal’s parakeets not as possessions but as individuals with a right to freedom? Kea, despite facing habitat loss and human-wildlife conflicts, still roam wild, adapting to changing landscapes. Their ability to explore, learn, and interact with their environment is a reminder of what many of Nepal’s parakeets have lost.

An AI generated image of Nepal’s parakeet and New Zealand’s kea in their natural habitat © OpenAI

Kea’s willingness to venture into plantation forests for sustenance demonstrates their adaptability, but they are not immune to human pressures. Habitat changes, exposure to toxins, and climate change are pushing their predators higher into alpine zones, creating new challenges for their survival.

Meanwhile parakeets in Nepal often face shrinking natural habitats with fewer options for survival. While kea find new ways to navigate a changing world, Nepal’s parakeets are being held back by cages or by degraded ecosystems. If we could foster the same appreciation for the natural behaviors of our own native birds, perhaps we could shift away from the practice of caging them and towards efforts that protect their wild populations.

Kea are naughty, sometimes destructive, but ultimately, they are wild; free to roam and explore. Nepal’s parakeets deserve the same fate. Instead of keeping them as pets, we should prioritize protecting their habitats, enabling them to play and be curious in the Himalayan forests of Nepal. The lesson is clear: birds, whether in Nepal or New Zealand, belong in the sky, not behind bars.

This article was prepared by Master of Science student Naresh Shrestha as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

Read full research article here:
Aitken, J., Paterson, A., Ross, J., Orr-Walker, T., & Young, L. (2023). A preliminary study of kea (Nestor notabilis) habitat use and diet in plantation forests of Nelson, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2023.2251904

September 12, 2025
Never ask a lizard its age (Calculate it using science!)

Where were you during the 1969 moon landing? What about at the turn of the century when the world was bracing for the Y2K Apocalypse? Or during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic?

What if I told you that there are world record-breaking geckos in Canterbury that were here through it all? That two geckos in particular, ‘Antoinette’ and ‘Brucie-Baby’, recently celebrated their 60th and 64th birthdays? That might seem unimpressive compared to a human lifespan, but most geckos are lucky to live 10-15 years elsewhere in the world.

So, what’s their secret? And how do we know this? It’s not like you can just ask a gecko its age (that would be rude! as well as difficult…). If you’ve worked with geckos or other lizards like I have, you’d also know that they’re elusive at the best of times and all look the same to an untrained eye. Well, like all great scientific breakthroughs, this story involves good record keeping, a bit of fancy maths, and, of course, Lincoln ecologists!

Antoinette and Brucie-Baby, the world’s oldest Waitaha geckos (Woodworthia brunnea). Image: Allanah Purdie | Department of Conservation 2025 (CC BY 4.0)

The Beginning

Let me take you back to the summer of ‘67. Staff from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) are tramping across Motunau Island, which lies 64 km north of Ōtautahi Christchurch and 1 km off the Canterbury coast. Weeds, fire, and rabbits had drastically changed the island’s vegetation since the 1850s, but rabbits were eradicated in 1962 and Motunau had otherwise never seen an introduced mammal. That absence makes the island a decent refuge for native lizards and seabirds.

Under the leadership of ecologist, Tony Whitaker, a team of DSIR staff surveyed lizards there every summer until 1975. As part of this, they caught Waitaha Geckos (Woodworthia brunnea) along a 20 x 20 m grid using pitfall traps, which are essentially baited holes in the ground that lizards fall into trying to get a sweet treat (don’t worry , this doesn’t harm them!).

Motunau Island in Canterbury, New Zealand. Image: Wikimedia Maps n.d. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Back then, Whitaker’s surveys had two main goals. The first was to test what kind of bait the lizards liked the most and the second was to figure out how to find nocturnal geckos in the dark. In case you were wondering, they found that lizards LOVE canned pear and that you can find geckos at night by spotlighting because their eyes reflect light like cats. For this story, though, the basic measurements taken from individual geckos over the years turned out to be far more interesting…

An Exciting Realisation

Fast forward several decades to the late 1990s and enter our Lincoln ecologists: Masters student Carol Bannock and Senior Lecturer Graham Hickling! Together with Tony Whitaker himself, they were going through Whitaker’s notes and realised that because geckos caught in the 1967-75 DSIR surveys were permanently marked by a unique combination of toes being clipped, they may be able to identify some of the same individuals 30 years later*. They also realised that because each individual had its snout-vent length (SVL) recorded, they could use growth rates to figure out how old each gecko was when first captured.

* Side note: I know toe clipping sounds brutal. We’ll unpack that later… For now, understand that although this method of identifying individuals is not used anymore, it was the best method for ecologists at the time because lizards shed their skin and therefore can’t be permanently marked by things like paint or dye.

Measuring the SVL of a Waitaha Gecko (Woodworthia brunnea) in Akaroa, Canterbury. Image: Alice McCormick 2024 (used with permission)

With no time to lose, the trio raced back to Motunau! With some searching, they found the original lizard grid from old survey pegs (who needs modern GPS?) and diligently caught and measured geckos between December 1996 and February 1997. Overall, they found 61 new geckos and recaptured 16 of the 133 toe-clipped between 1967-1975 (~12%).

To determine the growth rates of Motunau’s Waitaha Geckos, Bannock, Whitaker, and Hickling used the average SVL of one-year-old geckos caught in 1996-97 (identified by their small size) and the differences in SVL length for geckos caught 12 months apart in 1967-75 to create a growth curve. They then used that curve to estimate how old each gecko was when first caught in 1967-1975 (large geckos were categorised as 6+ years because Waitaha Geckos tend to stop growing after this). Next, they calculated the age of the 16 geckos recaptured in 1996-97 by adding their estimated ages to the number of years since first capture. The modelling for this is a little tricky, but it’s thoroughly explained in this paper by Ebert (1980), if you are interested. What you really need to know is that 10 of those 16 geckos turned out to be at least 36 years old!! The remaining 6 were between 29 and 34.

2025 and Beyond

In 1999 when Bannock, Whitaker, and Hickling published their paper, finding 30+ year-old geckos was huge news. It proved that Waitaha Geckos on predator-free Motunau could live equally as long in the wild as they do in captivity and added at least 15 years to the previously estimated maximum age for the species (or any gecko species in the world for that matter!).

The discovery was so exciting that it also prompted the Department of Conservation to immediately take charge of regular surveys on Motunau. In fact, it was in their most recent 2024-25 survey that ‘Antoinette’ and ‘Brucie-Baby’ were rediscovered (named in honour of Tony Whitaker and his co-worker, Bruce Thomas, in 1967 and 1969).

Iris pattern of a Waitaha Gecko (Woodworthia brunnea), annotated in I_³S Pattern. The three reference points (blue) and outlined identification area (green) were manually selected to allow I₃S to generate and compare key points (red) with other annotated photos. Image: © Samantha Dryden 2025.

That is not the end of Lincoln’s gecko searching though! Since 2021, our very own Dr Jennifer Gillette has been testing photography as a technique to identify individuals and to, hopefully, replace toe clipping in long-term studies. Together with her summer students, she has taken 1000s of photos of Waitaha Gecko iris and dorsal patterns around Akaroa Harbour and tested the ability of a pattern-recognition software called I³S to correctly match new photos with existing individuals in her database.

Dorsal pattern of a Waitaha Gecko (Woodworthia brunnea), annotated in I_³S Pattern. The three reference points (blue) and outlined identification area (green) were manually selected to allow I₃S to generate and compare key points (red) with other annotated photos. Image: © Samantha Dryden 2025.

According to Jennifer, the research on Motunau’s geckos has significantly impacted the way we understand and manage gecko populations in Aotearoa today. Because they live so long, Waitaha Geckos have evolved to be K-selected species, which means they mature slowly and have very few offspring. This strategy worked well before humans arrived, but today, most gecko populations in Aotearoa don’t have the luxury of living on predator-free islands like Motunau. This means that many geckos may be eaten before they are old enough to have babies, and their populations may take decades to recover from predation.

That is why being able to identify individuals like Antoinette and Brucie-Baby is so important! It’s also why no pest species can be overlooked in conservation and environmental management efforts!!

Lincoln University senior tutor, Jennifer Gillette (second from the right) and her students monitoring Waitaha Geckos (Woodworthia brunnea) around Akaroa Harbour, Canterbury. Image: © Samantha Dryden 2024.

The author, Sam Dryden, is a postgraduate student in the Master of Science at Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University. This article was written as an assessment for ECOL 608 Research Methods in Ecology.

Article reference: Bannock, C. A., Whitaker, A. H., & Hickling, G. J. (1999). Extreme longevity of the common gecko (Hoplodactylus maculatus) on Motunau Island, Canterbury, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 23(1), 101-103.

August 18, 2025
Tips for wildlife paparazzi
How camera angles reveal the secret lives of elusive predators

On my first visit to New Zealand, I was amused to see fellow backpackers flipping through glossy magazines filled with paparazzi shots of A-listers. I remember thinking, what a strange profession, hiding in the bushes to snap a shot of someone and follow their day-to-day routes.

Fast forward a couple of decades and here I am, fascinated by research articles on the optimal camera angle to capture elusive creatures. Turns out, the world of conservation has its own paparazzi. Moreover, I feel everyone should know their tricks!

When it comes to elusive predators, capturing them in their tracks is more than a curiosity, it’s a conservation tool. Camera traps are effective in estimating animal densities, before and after control even in the most adverse habitats, like wetlands.

CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 Image by Gábor

The A-listers in this article are elusive foreign predators, feral cats and mustelids (stoats, ferrets and weasels), always on the move and few and far between, like true celebrities. The red carpet is the New Zealand bush – an exclusive venue lined with a crowd of endemic icons watching in fear as the foreign stars steal the spotlight. The photographers? Not screaming paparazzi, but silent, motion-triggered camera traps, stationed like field agents waiting for a predator in sight.

But here’s the million-dollar question: Does the camera angle make or break the shot?

Just like in Hollywood, where a low angle shot can flatter or fail, the positioning of a trail camera can dramatically influence what gets captured in the frame. Nichols et al. (2016) asked exactly that: Should camera traps aimed at cryptic predators, like feral cats and mustelids, be set up horizontally or vertically for the best results?

The red carpet

Conducted in the pastoral Toronui Station, Hawke’s Bay, the researchers placed 20 pairs of camera traps—each pair with one camera horizontally and the other vertically. A horizontal camera faces forward at animal eye level. A vertical camera looks downward, much like a security camera.

To increase the chances of a sighting, the cameras were positioned at the ecotones or edges of forest fragments where possible.

To lure the stars, they used bait: not truffles, caviar or fur coats but rabbit meat and ferret-scented bedding. The cameras were left running for two months, waiting for their moment to shine.

Setup of horizontal and vertical cameras, Toronui Station, New Zealand, in 2014. Photo Nichols et al. 2016

The Scoop: Horizontal lands the money shot

When the footage was reviewed, the results were clear:
- Horizontal cameras recorded about 1.5 times more images of the target predators than vertical ones.
- They also captured significantly more independent encounters—meaning more unique visits, not just a burst of shots from one animal loving the spotlight.
- Total photos (including non-target species) were also higher with horizontal setups.
- False triggers (empty shots) were similar between both orientations.
In short, if you’re trying to catch a predator in the act, horizontal cameras are your go-to paparazzi.

But vertical isn’t out of the picture

Interestingly, vertical cameras had an unexpected benefit: image clarity. Because they face straight down, they often captured finer detail—like coat patterns on cats. This could be important when trying to identify individual animals, for tracking their movements or population size estimates based on mark–recapture.

CC BY-NC 2.0 Image by Kari Nousiainen

However, there’s a catch. Cats are big. The narrow vertical field of view meant that 63% of cat photos taken from above only caught part of the animal.

Tips for conservation’s paparazzi

This study is more than a technological tweak. It is a lesson in field strategy. For conservationists using camera traps to monitor invasive species, the setup matters:
- Horizontal orientation is best for maximizing detection rates.
- Vertical orientation may still be helpful for species or individual identification, if the field of view can be adjusted.
And crucially, the orientation didn’t affect the rate of false triggers, so there’s no trade-off there.

Final frame

Whether you’re tailing Taylor Swift in LA or tracking a mustelid in the New Zealand bush, one thing is clear:

It’s all about the angle.

For conservation science, that angle could mean the difference between missing a species or getting the data needed to protect native wildlife. For our most wanted A-listers the red carpet might be made of forest floor, but the flash of a camera still tells a powerful story.

This article was prepared by Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Science student Ine Schils as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course in the Department of Pest-Management and Conservation.

Reference

Nichols, M., Glen, A. S., Garvey, P., & Ross, J. (2017). A comparison of horizontal versus vertical camera placement to detect feral cats and mustelids. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 41(1), 145–150.
August 7, 2025
Under Cover of Darkness: Moon Brightness and Mammalian Predator Activity

Written by Kate McDowell

Last June, I found myself several hours into what would end up being a sixteen-hour run, in the middle of the night, on the coldest weekend of the year. As the ground visibly started to freeze in front of me, I realised that my head torch was struggling in the negative temperatures. Its battery couldn’t cope with the cold exposure. But you know what, I had a trick up my sleeve; it was a full moon.

I was guided by the incredible illumination of the moon on a clear winter night, and by how few animals I saw apart from the sheep and cattle of Lake Taylor station. As I left the station and entered Lake Sumner Forest Park, my headtorch flickered in the biting sub-zero temps of mid-winter New Zealand near the Southern Alps. I had barely heard a sound since nightfall, apart from my own crunching footfalls on freshly frozen tussock.

There were no pest animals dancing in the moonlight that chilly midwinter run, and I found myself wondering if our mammalian pests changed their activity based on how bright that big ball of cheese in the sky was. In 2016, Shannon Gilmore did a neat study on the effects of moon phase and illumination on activity of five introduced NZ mammals (cats, rats, mustelids, possums, hedgehogs) for her thesis at Lincoln University.

A trail runner foolishly runs 16 hours over an alpine pass, whilst being watched by introduced predators who may or may not be contemplating consuming the body of said runner. [Source: Chat GPT AI, Kate McDowell]

I seemed to be one of the few introduced mammals blatantly puffing my way up the North Branch Hurunui riverbed. I have this strong memory of looking down and watching myself be followed by my own moon shadow. It made me question – how many eyes were following me in the dark canopy of the nearby beech forest?

Gilmore found that increased vegetation cover and rain were contributing factors to pest detection. Sites with dense canopies had higher detection rates, potentially because they provide better shelter and reduced exposure from threats like light. While rainfall was not a statistically significant factor, pest activity generally decreased with rainfall. Gilmore suggested this may be because it is cold or the rain might be disrupting the animal’s sense of smell.

So maybe my paranoia about forest animals staring me down wasn’t so crazy after all. It was certainly interesting to think back on the run and how many introduced predators there could have been in the nearby beech forests. The conservation implications for understanding where predators are and why they might change their activities also gave me some things to mull over the next day.

Detecting these introduced predators is essential for informing control efforts; we need to know where predators are and how many of them are in a given area. Environmental conditions may be obscuring the predator’s true activity levels. Gilmore added to previous studies of moon phase effects on mammals by accounting for interaction effects of weather and vegetation. Whether these effects were caused by the lower light levels or by something else not explored in this study is yet to be answered.

Many studies have looked at the role of moon phase and animal activity, but in 2016 few studies had investigated the additional factor of the moon’s brightness. Gilmore was the first to measure hourly light levels through the night and looked at how it affected the activity level of the nocturnal pest species. A highly sensitive light meter (Sky Quality Meter, or SQM) to measure illumination levels between moon phases in the Blue Mountains (Otago), Banks Peninsula (Canterbury) and Hawkes Bay.

Gilmore found that while moon phase could not explain pest activity, moon illumination did. As the dark side of the moon grew larger, pests seemed to thrive under cover of darkness and became far more active. When the moon hits a mammal’s eyes, Gilmore theorised that they may be spurred to hide. Most introduced mammals in NZ are prey in their native countries and it is hard to say whether a single century of living without their native predators has changed their behaviour.

SQM successfully managed to detect differences in illumination between moon phases and under different canopy cover levels. Canopy cover was found to have a larger impact on illumination than moon phase. SQM findings on Banks Peninsula suggested that on darker nights a pest is more likely to be active.

Building on earlier research, Farnworth, Innes and Waas (2016) released a paper looking at the effect of light on mouse foraging behaviour. This study agreed with Gilmore’s results, finding that mice displayed strong preferences for foraging in unlit areas. Farnworth et al. further built on Gilmore’s conclusions by contemplating that artificial light could provide protection from predators in ecologically sensitive areas – for instance, in areas where predator proof fences have been breached by a tree limb dropping on it.

Predator proof fence study by ZIP scientists showing a rat trying to escape. [Source: ZIP (Zero Invasive Predators Ltd), used with permission]

The innovative organisation Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) completed an interesting follow up study in 2018, focusing on whether or not light could deter rats from entering an area. They found that although light did not limit rats passing through, they were less likely to linger in lit zones. Their conclusion: illumination could be used in a layered deterrent system, where light is used to slow down pests.

Conservation in NZ is generally hamstrung by lack of funding. Efficiency is key to making the most of the meagre dollars on offer, so studies like Gilmore’s can help optimise monitoring and control operations. So when that bad moon comes a-rising, you can bet that pest control and monitoring will be less effective, and it would be more useful to focus efforts during darker nights.

I definitely felt exposed running through a riverbed under a full moon, so I can appreciate how light can serve as a useful predator deterrent. It’s another tool we should add to the belt as we work toward a predator-free country.

We’ve reached the end of our illuminating lunar article, but the real question now is how many song references did you pick up on? 😉

This article was prepared by Master of Science student Kate Morrison as part of the ECOL608 Research Methods in Ecology course.

Paper: Gilmore, S. (2016). The influence of illumination and moon phase on activity levels of nocturnal mammalian pests in New Zealand (Master’s thesis, Lincoln University).

July 21, 2025
Detecting red panda, dancing with Kate Bush

I’ve been a fan of Kate Bush since she released ‘Wuthering Heights’ when I was 10 years old. She famously does not tour or give shows and so I have never had the chance to see her live. A couple of weeks ago a tribute act ‘An evening without Kate Bush’ came through Christchurch. Great! I booked tickets and dragged Julie along.

My wife is a long suffering SOKF (spouse of Kate fan), but she was happy to indulge me. Little did she know what was in store. It was a great show. Sarah-Louise Young danced and sang very well and was quite funny. Kate Bush always walks a fine line between quirky and bonkers. The Piano audience had a good time.

The show was quite interactive. At one point Sarah-Louise asked what our favourite Kate song was. I stuck up my hand and she came over. In addition to the song (Get out of my house), she was interested in whether Julie was a fan (not particularly) and how long we had been married (30 years).

As she turned to go, Julie added “Oh and Adrian proposed to me in a Kate Bush way.” Well that was that. Julie was then explaining The Dreaming album cover, the ring, the kiss and so on. Much hilarity ensued.

The show continued on. We got to ‘Don’t give up‘, the song sung by Peter Gabriel with Kate. Sarah-Louise wanted a couple to come onstage and of course that was us. We had to slow dance for the song (much as happens in the video). That’s 6.5 minutes, or an eternity on the stage.

So, there we were, literally, in the spot light, in front of 325 people. I didn’t find it too bad. I focused in the dancing and not tripping over. Julie was very uncomfortable and most definitely not herself. We reflected later that I am more used to ‘performing’ as a lecturer in front of crowds. Julie is a teacher but only has much smaller groups to perform to.

I think that we did OK. It turned out that there were a couple of people in the audience who new us and messaged that we did some good dancing (probably they were just happy that they hadn’t been picked to do it).

As we quietly swayed and turned on stage I did reflect on how the knowledge of being observed really does affect the behaviour of individuals. This links through to my research where I am often making observations of individual birds and mammals.

A gaggle of red panda! Image from Sonam Tashi Lama

Recently, we have been using trail cameras to get a better understanding of red panda, and other mammals, in their habitat of eastern Nepal. In these areas red panda are relatively cryptic and declining. Grids of cameras offer a way of observing red panda over long periods of time without humans needing to be nearby.

Cameras can tell us about the distribution of species over daily and seasonal cycles (Collecting mammals: camera traps in eastern Nepal). We also observed that panda do notice the cameras and that this can lead to subtle changes in their behaviour (I see you: Sauron and the panda).

In this work with Sonam Tashi Lama (Red Panda Network), and published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, we set up 19 sites in the alpine forests of eastern Nepal. At each site we had two cameras, one set up in a typical manner at ground level and the other in the tree canopy 5 m above. The cameras collected data over several months.

We found that red panda were active over the whole day (gotta eat a lot of bamboo and other vegetation!) but activity peaked around dawn and again at midday.

Arboreal cameras took four times as many photos as ground cameras. These were mostly of leaves blowing in the wind but they were eight times more effective at capturing red panda images. These behaviours included action activities (e.g. tree climbing), clear images of faces, and motion‐lite activities, like sleeping and grooming.

Image from Sonam Tashi Lama

So, now we know that cameras can affect the behaviour of red panda being observed and that the placement of the cameras can affect how successful our observations are. Is this a problem? Perhaps, but it is better to know there is a problem when we conduct future research. Also, the information that we are gathering, even if there is some biases, is still way better than not knowing anything.

We will take the net gain in what we now know about red panda and that can help us with managing them and their habitat.

It was nice to be reminded about how it feels to be observed. Whether it is 300 Kate Bush fans or a trail camera, there is a physical reaction to knowing that something is out there and perhaps it is watching you. It’s something to keep in mind when designing these studies.

Oh and don’t put your hand up when you are in the audience of these kinds of interactive shows!

Adrian Paterson is in the Department of Pest-management and Conservation at Lincoln University. Now that he thinks about it, he has spent a lot of his research prying into the private lives of animals.

April 11, 2025