Kārearea enjoys the taste of tūturuatu on Mana Island
A hungry kārearea played a part in a failed attempt to establish a colony of critically endangered shore birds on Mana Island.
In February the Department of Conservation translocated 29 juvenile tūturuatu, or shore plovers, to Mana, off Porirua, however in July it was reported all 29 birds had vanished. Some were discovered on the mainland, recaptured and placed back on the island with more captive-bred plovers.
Last month it was discovered some had ended up as lunch for a resident kārearea or New Zealand falcon. Others would have been susceptible to being gobbled up by cats, rats and stoats on the mainland.
Best way to use leftovers?
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⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️