I am going to be working with the team at Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust. Simon, Melissa, Chauncy and the amazing team of volunteers are going to be guiding me for the next 6 months.
My work is going to involve helping with different day to day tasks around the reserve as well as data collection on resident Weta and Lizards. I am going to be working on a data base that will record what Weta are using the roosts around the sanctuary and also gathering information about the types of Geckos and Skinks that are living at the lake.
Since mid 2009 there has been no evidence found of any pest animal species. This is the result of a predator proof fence being erected and a full scale pest eradication programme.
The presence of weta and lizards in the reserve show us that the area is healthy, they are called 'indicator' species. If weta and lizards are competing with pests for food or simply being eaten by the pests then there will not be many of them around. 5 years down the track since 2009, now is the time we should start to see Lizards and Weta in larger numbers.
The idea of hunting for weta wasn't something that initially excited me .... eeewwww weta! But, I am happy to say that I am really excited about it now.
If you are interested in finding out more about Lake Rotokare, I urge you to visit our website below.
http://www.rotokare.org.nz/
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