Whio
Whio are a taonga species that Māori have a strong cultural, spiritual, and historic connection with. Whio were once widespread across much of New Zealand but predation, primarily by stoats, and habitat modification have now greatly limited their abundance and distribution. Today, they have a threat classification of endangered.
Species conservation dog, Tui, surveys Doom Creek for whio in March 2023.
Led by the Department of Conservation (DOC), this whio project clarified if whio were still present within the wider Te Hoiere catchment. Whio were once present within the Richmond Range/Bryant Range. The last records obtained from the local DOC Sounds Office were from goat hunters working in Te Hoiere and Whakamarino (Wakamarina) catchments in the early 2000s.
In March 2023, a habitat assessment was conducted of the Upper Whakamarino River and its tributaries to assess both the presence and current suitability for whio. A DOC-certified and experienced whio dog (Tui, a 9-year-old Golden Labrador Retriever) and owner/handler Glen Newton were contracted to make either a single or double pass search along waterways and banks in the Upper Whakamarino Catchment.
The results:
- No whio were located after three days and 13.5km of searching in Whakamarino catchment.
- The historic presence of whio in the Whakamarino catchment shows the habitat was once suitable, and the current survey findings confirms that this is still the case.
- Unfortunately, in the absence of sustained predator control, stoat predation has likely caused local extinction of the whio population across the wider Richmond/Bryant Range.
This study showed that large-scale landscape-based predator control, targeting stoats, would need to be implemented and demonstrating success before reintroduction of whio could be considered in the area. The Project and its aspirations are intergenerational, and long-term solutions will still be explored to re-introduce this taonga species.
The full 2023 report on whio can be found here
Check out Department of Conservation's page all about the whio
Additional projects
A similar search was carried out in the Upper Te Hoiere/Pelorus areas for whio in 2022.
