Harlequin Gecko 5 Tin Range Stewart Island Ty Conner and Mike Douglass

News Stories

Working towards our vision, together

We are already on the journey

An incredible amount of work towards a predator-free Rakiura has already been achieved by iwi, the community and various organisations. Many people on and around Rakiura are doing their bit to control predators and keep their homes, vehicles and vessels rat-free. We want to share some of their stories.

Community Representative Sought for Predator Free Rakiura...

In a bid to strengthen community engagement and support for the ambitious vision of a Predator Free ...

Stewart Island News Update: February 2024

Predator Free Rakiura regularly provides newsletter-style updates to be included in Stewart Island N...

Stewart island robin / toutouwai. Photo - DOC

Hedgehog survey yields interesting results

Predator Free Rakiura’s search for hedgehogs has yielded some interesting results - despite few of t...

Stewart Island News Update: December 2023

Predator Free Rakiura regularly provides newsletter-style updates to be included in Stewart Island N...

Unfurling fronds Rakiura Track Stewart Island credit B Maryns

Exciting career opportunities with PFR!

Make your mark on New Zealand's conservation efforts and join the Predator Free Rakiura team! Check ...

PFR reflects on 2022-23, looks to the...

Predator Free Rakiura has released Mai I Mua Ki Heke Mai - From Past to Future. The document shares ...

Stewart Island News Update: May 2023

Predator Free Rakiura regularly provides newsletter-style updates to be included in Stewart Island N...

Mouse eDNA... What Next?

In late 2022, PFR Research & Operations Manager Kevin Carter waded into waterways to collect water s...

Hedgehog investigations underway

They might seem cute, but hedgehogs can do a lot of damage to taonga species! That’s why Predator Fr...

Stewart Island News Update: December 2022

Predator Free Rakiura regularly provides newsletter-style updates to be included in Stewart Island N...

Oban, Stewart Island. Photo - DOC V ZINTZEN

Mouse eDNA research starts on Rakiura

Predator Free Rakiura will this month begin investigating whether there is an established mouse popu...

Stewart Island News Update: October 2022

Predator Free Rakiura regularly provides newsletter-style updates to be included in Stewart Island N...

Manaaki Whenua partnership signing Dean Whaanga Fiona Carswell Paul Norris

Manaaki Whenua and Predator Free Rakiura collaborating...

On 5 July 2022 representatives from Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research and Predator Free Rakiura sig...

North Tikotatahi Bay - credit Rakiura Hunter Camps Trust

Ray’s decades of dedication towards predator control...

Predator Free Rakiura project member Ray Phillips has dedicated more than 30 years hunting, trapping...

Mason Bay mahi supporting our predator free...

Covering approximately 300ha of coastal forest situated amongst a broader dune ecosystem, the Mason ...

Ngā tāngata: it’s the people that make...

Picturing what a predator free Rakiura/Stewart Island could look like may be as simple as casting yo...

Campbell Leckie’s first impressions of Rakiura

Campbell Leckie may be a South Islander by birth, but he spent most of his teen and adult life in th...

Announcing Our New Project Director

The design and feasibility stage of this ambitious project, creating a Predator Free Rakiura, is set...

Ngāi Tahu Whakapapa ki Rakiura

Ngāi Tahu’s links to Rakiura can be traced back to the time of Māui, who is said to have reached int...

A new chapter for Rakiura’s predator control...

A new chapter in Rakiura/Stewart Island’s predator control story has begun on Oneki, or The Neck, wh...

South Island Kaka Stewart Island Rakiura Photo Jake Osborne CC BY NC SA 2 v2.0

Predator Free Rakiura sets up new Trust

Predator Free Rakiura is excited to announce the set-up of our new Charitable Trust “Te Puka Rakiura...

Possum with kereru egg. Photo - Nga Manu Images

Predator Free innovations and what this means...

There is a lot to learn from what is happening in the Predator Free movement. Read on for a snapshot...

Norway rat Rakiura. Photo Jake Osborne CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Vanquishing predators will be no mean feat

Otago Daily Times reporter Laura Smith visited Rakiura/Stewart Island in July to speak to one of the...

Tieke South Island Saddleback. Photo Tane Davis

Getting ready for a world-first predator eradication...

Predator Free Rakiura is getting ready for the immense and challenging task of tackling the world’s ...

Multi-year funding announced for the Predator Free...

October 2020 was a month of excitement for the Predator Free Rakiura project! We share some highligh...

Bridget Carter, Tā Tipene O’Regan, Minister Eugenie Sage, Tāne Davis and Paul Norris at the signing of the MOU. Photo - Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu

The signing of the Predator Free Rakiura...

For many years the Tītī Islands off the coast of Rakiura have been a hard-won sanctuary for our taon...

Detector Gadget rodent dog checking bags for rodents. Photo Sandy King

Detector Gadget the conservation dog

Gadget is a dog with a job. The Jack Russell – fox terrier cross is a certified rodent detector dog,...

Kākāpō Mati-mā, Whenua Hou. Photo - Jake Osborne CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Kākāpō Files

The link between kākāpō and Predator Free Rakiura is strong. The kākāpō is a large, flightless and n...

Snares Snipe on Whenua Hou Jake Osborne v2

Kaitiakitanga - caring for Tutukiwi / Snipe

In 2015, the whānau of Putauhinu and Kundy Islands came together with DOC to transfer tutukiwi, a ta...

Stewart Bull's reflections on Taukihepa / Big...

Kia ora kotou katoa, as part of the Predator Free Rakiura group I am one of the representatives of t...

Predator control at Mamaku Point

Predator Free New Zealand has written a great featuring Ernie Mason - a biosecurity ranger at Mamak...