The Department of Conservation teams based in Auckland, the Hauraki Gulf Islands and Great Barrier Island have been responding to the extreme weather event and supporting local partners and agencies over the weekend.

In the short term, DOC’s priority is to keep staff and visitors safe.

Native wildlife

Native wildlife have been impacted by the extreme weather through habitat destruction, injury, fatigue and stress.

DOC continues to have a wildlife response role during the current extreme weather event. However, due to the unprecedented number of wildlife impacted and limited staff capacity, we need to prioritise the most endangered species and may not be able to respond to all injured wildlife.

The following species are the highest priority for responses:

• Marine mammals and reptiles such as dolphins, whales, turtles, and snakes
• Albatross/mollymawk species
• Australasian bittern
• Kākāriki species
• Kiwi species
• Tara iti/Fairy Tern
• Hihi/Stitchbird
• Takahē
• Kōtuku/white heron
• Parekareka/Spotted shag
• Storm petrel species
• Black petrel
• Bat species

If the public see an injured bird which is not an endangered or at risk species, our advice is to move it to a safe space, if possible, and let it recover on its own, or let nature take its course.

A safe space is somewhere sheltered from predators and the weather, such as tucked under a bush or hidden in the grasses or the sand dunes.

We ask the public not to take birds home, as it can prolong their stress. It can also be very damaging to give native birds food if they are in a state of stress, dehydration or exhaustion.

There may be an increase of dead wildlife, especially birds around the Auckland region.

Report injured wildlife to the DOC hotline on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).

Please follow the instructions you receive from the DOC response team.

Damage to tracks and facilities

Tracks and facilities across the Auckland region may be damaged with slips, washouts, fallen trees, or flooding.

DOC is advising the public not to access public conservation land as rangers have not yet been able to fully assess damage or close all tracks and facilities that are unsafe to use.

Once it is safe to do so, DOC rangers will be undertaking full assessments of the tracks and other facilities such as huts, campsites and bathroom blocks, across the region.

© Scoop Media