Department of Conservation | Te Papa Atawhai
https://www.doc.govt.nz/
https://www.doc.govt.nz/
Introduction
View DOC media releases from 2025.
Great white shark makes cameo appearance
Date: 13 March 2025
A team reviewing underwater footage in Fiordland were amazed to find a great white shark eyeballing their camera recently.
Rehabbed turtles satellite tagged for groundbreaking research
Date: 12 March 2025
This afternoon, five rehabilitated green turtles were released back into the wild in Rangaunu Harbour, Northland, marking the beginning of an important three-year research project.
Digger does its duty to deal with invasive weed
Date: 11 March 2025
A large digger isn’t something usually seen in a protected wetland, but it’s proven vital in a collaborative effort to remove an invasive weed species.
New population of critically endangered kākāriki established
Date: 05 March 2025
A crucial new wild kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeet population is being established on Pukenui/Anchor Island following the release of 34 of the critically endangered manu there.
Deer the focus of annual Pureora Hunting Competition
Date: 03 March 2025
Hunters entering this year’s Pureora Hunting Competition are urged to target both hinds and stags, as DOC staff seek more information on the forest’s deer herd.
New management for Pūponga Farm Park
Date: 03 March 2025
Two parties have been chosen to manage Pūponga Farm Park, adjacent to Golden Bay’s Onetahua/Farewell Spit.
Captive kākā, Charlie, to stay in Dunedin
Date: 27 February 2025
South Island kākā, Charlie Girl, will remain at the Dunedin Botanic Garden Aviary where she’s being well looked after, for the foreseeable future, following an independent assessment into the parrot’s welfare.
Future blooms bright for rare tree daisy
Date: 24 February 2025
The future looks set to bloom for 1000 seedlings of Nationally Endangered Gardner’s tree daisy germinated at Tongariro Prison Nursery.
Three prime New Zealand islands join global restoration campaign
Date: 21 February 2025
New Zealand is partnering with global conservation charities to raise $137 million to rewild some of Aotearoa’s largest islands so they become safe havens for native wildlife found nowhere else in the world.
Popular Great Walks bookings to open
Date: 18 February 2025
DOC has announced that bookings for the 2025/26 season for New Zealand’s Great Walks and other huts and campsites will open in May.
Frogs impacted by predators, climate change
Date: 18 February 2025
The latest report on New Zealand amphibians’ conservation status confirms higher numbers of Archey’s frogs than previously known, although they’re still at risk of extinction.
$30 million to support conservation tourism
Date: 17 February 2025
Source: Office of the Minister of Conservation
The Government is investing $30 million from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to fund more than a dozen projects to boost biodiversity and the tourist economy, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says.
DOC urges public support following incident near tara iti nesting site
Date: 14 February 2025
DOC is reminding the public of the critical importance of protecting tara iti (fairy tern) nesting sites following an incident at Mangawhai Heads in late December 2024, during the birds’ peak breeding season.
Whakapapa Holdings Limited public hearings to begin
Date: 13 February 2025
DOC will be holding public hearings on Whakapapa Holdings Limited’s concession application from 17 February to 19 February 2025.
Takahē released to grow wild population
Date: 12 February 2025
Efforts to expand a wild population of takahē near Queenstown began yesterday with the release of 18 birds in the Rees Valley.
Nursery supercharges Rakitata restoration
Date: 10 February 2025
Starting from bare ground near Arowhenua Marae in Temuka, a Jobs for Nature project to support the Rakitata River Revival project now employs 11 people.
Next steps for Te Anau Bird Sanctuary
Date: 10 February 2025
DOC is exploring alternatives to its management role at Te Anau Bird Sanctuary/Te Punanga Manu following a review into the facility and its operations.
Spartina control vital to protecting native species
Date: 10 February 2025
A DOC-led spartina control operation will focus on an infestation of the plants in the inter-tidal areas of Coromandel Harbour later this month.
Scientists hit the water for Maaui dolphin population survey
Date: 07 February 2025
DOC will begin the latest Maaui dolphin abundance estimate survey next week, continuing vital work to monitor and protect one of the world’s rarest marine mammals.
Mouse plague threatens rare skink
Date: 05 February 2025
DOC plans to control a mouse plague that is threatening to destroy a small population of critically endangered Alborn skinks near Reefton using the toxin brodifacoum in bait stations.
Tara iti breeding season progressing well
Date: 04 February 2025
DOC staff are cautiously optimistic about the 2024/2025 tara iti/New Zealand fairy tern breeding season, which is tracking within expectations for the critically threatened species.
Whio released for first time in Moeraki valley
Date: 31 January 2025
The first release of seven juvenile whio in the Moeraki valley, north of Haast, is a milestone for West Coast whio conservation efforts.
Signs of hope as Whangamarino Wetlands bounces back from fire
Date: 31 January 2025
The internationally significant Whangamarino Wetland has proven more resilient to fire than expected, thanks to the healthy state of the peatland before the blaze.
Native species compromised by trap vandals
Date: 30 January 2025
More than 150 remote predator traps set to protect native species in Mt Aspiring National Park have been systematically tampered with says DOC.
100s of NZ species highly vulnerable to climate change
Date: 30 January 2025
A major assessment released by DOC shows many of New Zealand’s native plants and animals are in for a rough time as climate change impacts increase.
More extreme weather predicted for subants
Date: 30 January 2025
A Department of Conservation study is predicting more extreme weather for New Zealand’s southernmost subantarctic island, which is likely to impact the sealions, albatross and other threatened species living there.
Orca incidents prompt DOC plea
Date: 29 January 2025
Orca pod sightings in two Waikato harbours have prompted DOC staff to remind boaties, kayakers and jet-skiers about the rules for interactions with marine mammals.
Saving threatened seabird from rising sea levels
Date: 29 January 2025
The sea is rapidly claiming their home due to climate change, but the recent move of critically threatened Whenua Hou diving petrel to a new site could help secure their future.
Rat found on Ulva Island triggers response
Date: 23 January 2025
DOC has begun an incursion response on predator free Ulva Island after a rat was found dead in a trap last week during routine surveillance.
Backcountry huts get IVL funding boost
Date: 23 January 2025
DOC and the Backcountry Trust (BCT) are partnering on 30 recreational hut projects this summer – great news for lovers of New Zealand’s backcountry and those looking to volunteer outdoors, says DOC.
“Feisty” injured Whanganui kiwi returns home
Date: 21 January 2025
Attempting to wriggle from its handler’s grasp, a brown kiwi has eagerly returned home to the wild near the Parapara Road Banana Bridge, following its recovery from being hit by a car.
Visitors flock back to Mautohe Cathedral Cove
Date: 21 January 2025
Hundreds of people a day are visiting Mautohe Cathedral Cove’s famous beach following the reinstatement of walking access to the popular Coromandel location.
Cobble skinks beat the odds and fly home
Date: 20 January 2025
Source: Department of Conservation and Auckland Zoo
In a fortunate turn of events, an “insurance” population of 148 cobble skinks has been returned to the wild north of Westport on the South Island’s West Coast.
Two separate whale strandings in the South Island this weekend
Date: 19 January 2025
Iwi, DOC, and Project Jonah teams have been responding to two separate whale stranding events this weekend in the South Island.
Well-placed rangers rescue tramper in trouble
Date: 17 January 2025
DOC rangers and a hut warden were in the right place at the right time to help a hiker in the Nelson Lakes National Park.
Hoiho/yellow-eyed penguin nest numbers down
Date: 14 January 2025
Source: Department of Conservation and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
Hoiho appear on our five-dollar note and are one of the rarest penguins in the world with only 143 known nests on mainland New Zealand including Stewart Island/Rakiura.
“Frustrating and distressing”: DOC appeals for information after seabirds killed
Date: 09 January 2025
DOC is seeking information from the public, following reports of seabirds being captured in fishing nets and drowned from a boat near Slipper Island/Whakahau, Coromandel.
Entangled dolphin near Auckland now freed
Date: 09 January 2025
DOC’s marine mammal disentanglement team were able to free the entangled dolphin around western Auckland yesterday.
Queenstown’s DOC visitor centre based in Glenorchy for two weeks
Date: 08 January 2025
DOC’s Queenstown visitor centre will be temporarily operating from Glenorchy between 13-26 January 2025.
DOC seeks sightings of entangled dolphin near Auckland
Date: 07 January 2025
DOC is calling for public assistance in locating an entangled bottlenose dolphin reported in waters around western Auckland.