I visited Nga Manu on 22/11/2015, and was one of only a handful of visitors that Sunday morning. Overall, this small native wildlife park has not changed significantly since my previous visit over three years ago. The biggest change is the construction of a four lane motorway across the entrance road. This is an ongoing project that will require a new entrance road to the Reserve I think. There will be no offramp for the Reserve, but will make it a shorter journey to and from Wellington, so will hopefully increase visitor numbers. The motorway is quite far from the actual entrance, so shouldn’t have too much impact in terms of noise, etc. Inside the Reserve, the small collection of aviaries and reptile exhibits appears largely unchanged, with the same (fairly standard) native species present - as well as a few introduced species (see list below). The place looked pretty tidy, and the lawn and lake area had large numbers of waterfowl and their offspring, which was nice to see. There were also large numbers of wild birds, mostly introduced, flying around. The Bush Walk was excellent, and the signage generally very good too. The Nocturnal House is looking a little shabby, but the exhibit for Kiwi, and tanks for Freshwater Crayfish and Banded Kokopu are good. The Kiore/Polynesian Rats were active and visible, which was great to see. The remaining exhibits house pairs of Little Owls and Moreporks respectively, and I don’t think these are suitable enclosures for these species. Outdoor aviaries, in shaded areas (of which there are plenty in the park) would be an improvement. There are seven other aviaries at the Park, and these range from excellent (especially those that contain ducks - always with other birds too) to acceptable to fairly awful. The two closest to the entrance are adjoining walk-in aviaries, the first with Red-crowned Parakeets and the second with North Island Kaka and South Island Weka. These are the worst aviaries, very small and functional, with limited natural substrate and vegetation. Replacements for these should be priorities for the future. Overall, Nga Manu looked tidy and well-looked after, if not well-visited. Hopefully an increase in visitor numbers from the new road will allow additional investment in exhibits, but I’m not sure if that will be the case. Species List: Freshwater Crayfish Banded Kokopu Longfin Eel Whistling Tree Frog Duvaucel’s Gecko Forest Gecko Tuatara North Island Brown Kiwi Mallard Duck Grey Teal Brown Teal New Zealand Shoveller New Zealand Scaup Paradise Shelduck Canada Geese Mute Swan New Zealand Wood Pigeon Western Weka Pukeko White-faced Heron Little Owl Morepork Kea North Island Kaka Red-crowned Parakeet Tui Kiore
Kiore are actually very rare in NZ, having been largely exterminated by the Black and Ship Rats that arrived with Europeans. As such, they are very rarely seen, especially around houses - so defintiely not a household pest. I think they are largely restricted to areas where the other rats are absent, especially offshore islands. However, exotic species are largely being eradicated from these islands. Interestingly, the Department of Conservation has set aside two islands as sanctuaries for Kiore: Rare rats off the hook as DoC gives them island sanctuary - Environment - NZ Herald News
apart for offshore islands kiore are probably now only found in Fiordland (maybe south Westland too) and Stewart Island.
Pretty odd to protect habitat for a species that while it might not be common in NZ is the third most common rat species in the world... and an introduced one at that. Black rats are pretty rare in the UK (only one island in the Outer Hebrides) but I cannot imagine there would be any concerns if it was suddenly extinct.
it's not really to do with them being uncommon in New Zealand, it is because kiore have cultural significance for Maori. The local tribes have to be consulted when island populations of kiore are eradicated, for example. There would be no similar situation (in NZ) if black or brown rats were to be eradicated.
