Trapping is hard mahi, especially on rugged terrain thick with vegetation. If you need to check a trap frequently to clear it and refresh the lure, the kilometres of bush bashing quickly add up. Plus, in areas where kea are found, trap options are limited by concerns for these curious and intelligent parrots. A team in Queenstown are investigating if the latest ‘smart’ traps – equipped with cameras, AI-powered to recognise specific targets, and networked so they can communicate and be operated remotely – might be the answer.

Guests:

• Paul Kavanagh, project director, Southern Lakes Sanctuary
• Phillip Green, field and technical advisor, Southern Lakes Sanctuary

Learn more:

• Country Life tagged along with the Halo project, part of Predator Free Dunedin, who are also trialling networked AI traps just north of the city.
• One of the Southern Lakes Sanctuary hubs at Makaroraisfocused on trapping to protect mohua, and they are trialling an AI method to identifyindividual birds by their song.
• In the Catlins, a team are battling predators and browsing pests to protect taonga there.

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The summer science series continues with an episode from RNZ podcast Country Life. From a block of gorse-infected scrubland on Banks Peninsula, renowned botanist Hugh Wilson has spent half a lifetime growing Hinewai Reserve into a 1600-hectare paradise of regenerated native forest by leaving nature to it. Cosmo Kentish-Barnes visits to learn more.

The Country Life podcast takes you all over the motu to hear the extraordinary stories of every day rural New Zealand. Hosted and produced by Sally Round, Cosmo Kentish-Barnes, Duncan Smith and Gianina Schwanecke

Listen to more Country Life episodes.

Guest:

• Hugh Wilson, botanist

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The summer science series continues with an episode from RNZ podcast Black Sheep. Freddie Angell was New Zealand's most notorious wildlife smuggler. His repeated attempts at stealing and exporting native wildlife in the 1990s, including kea and tuatara, made him all but a household name. William Ray speaks to documentary-maker Andy MacDonald about his extraordinary story.

Black Sheep is an RNZ podcast produced and presented by William Ray.

Listen to more episodes of Black Sheep.

Guest:

• Andy MacDonald, documentary-maker

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Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details