Native Animals
Looking after our native wildlife
Kaipātiki is home to an incredible number of species native to Aotearoa and PFK is committed to ensuring we protect and build the populations of these species. Read on to learn about all the amazing creatures that live in our Kaipātiki nature reserves. Click here for more information on our Ecological Monitoring in Kaipātiki.
Birds, Birds, Birds! Kākā!
We love kākā in Kaipātiki! Kākā are listed as ‘at risk’ and are one of three mainland parrots native to New Zealand (the other two are kea and kākāpō). Kākā rely on forests for their survival - they eat a wide range of forest foods and nest in hollows in large, old forest trees.
While we know kākā visit Kaipātiki frequently, we would love to see them breeding here, and we think it is possible! We have installed artificial kākā nests around Kaipātiki in an effort to compensate for the loss of nesting spaces that the reduction in large trees has caused. You can help, too, by keeping large trees standing on your property to ensure that they have the forest they need for survival. For more information on kākā, please see visit: How You Can Help Support Kaka in Kaipatiki
If you see or hear kākā around Kaipatiki please try to take a video, photo or sound recording and add it to iNaturalist, or send it to kakawatchnz@gmail.com with details of where you saw it and what it was doing. This will help us build up a better picture of where kākā are visiting and how we can best support them.
Invertebrates
Invertebrates make up an incredibly complex part of the native ecosystem, and without them everything would collapse! Invasive reptiles, mammals, and other invertebrates all destroy native invertebrate life. Trapping and weed control can help with the revitalisation of native invertebrate life. Monitoring what invertebrates we have in Kaipātiki can help us understand how our conservation efforts are going.
Reptiles
Kaipātiki is host to several very special native reptiles. They need healthy (weed free), safe (low abundances of pest animals) and connected, diverse native bush and ecosystems to thrive, and places to escape from neighbourhood cats. If you find reptiles in Kaipātiki, please do not interfere but rather enjoy the rare sighting, consider hosting a rat trap if you don’t already, and let the Auckland Council BioData team know by emailing your sighting to mary.stewart@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.
Bats
Pekapeka-tou-roa or long-tailed bats are one of only two existing native mammals in New Zealand. They were once extremely widespread, but are now considered critically endangered. They depend on large, old trees for roosting spaces and feed on insects such as mosquitoes, beetles and moths. Kaipātiki is a great potential habitat for pekapeka-tou-roa / long-tailed bats due to the corridors of bush with large trees, combined with widespread community pest control. There is anecdotal evidence of these rare endemic animals living in Kaipātiki, but as yet there is no scientific proof.
Over summer we run evening bat-detection walks to try and catch a glimmer of them and we encourage anyone who thinks they have seen a bat to take a photo or video and share it with us, or add it to iNaturalist. Keep an eye on our events page for information about upcoming bat-related events.
Fish
Did you know that a big tuna (eel) you may find in a stream could be as old as your grandmother? We have several native fish species in Kaipātiki that have incredible life cycles, and odd abilities such as climbing obstacles and living outside of water for months in the mud if they have to. Many people also don’t realise that the little whitebait they see in our streams are young and threatened native fish, and they need our protection. To help protect a local stream and learn about native fish, please visit StreamCare Kaipatiki.
