Predator control at one of Queenstown’s most iconic nature reserves is set to be given a boost, thanks to a $75,000 donation from the Hugo Charitable Trust.

The Arrowtown-based nationwide charity has granted the funds to Southern Lakes Sanctuary (SLS) to install 28 state-of-the-art pest traps at Bob’s Cove, targeting possums, rats and feral cats that inhabit the area, threatening native wildlife.

The traps include 18 self-resetting devices and 10 live-capture traps and will be deployed this spring at Bob’s Cove – a popular spot for lakeside nature walks, boasting beech forest, manuka groves and an historic lime kiln from the 1800s.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Hugo Charitable Trust for recognising the importance of the conservation work we are undertaking at Bob’s Cove,” SLS project director Paul Kavanagh says. “It is the closest intact native beech forest to Queenstown and is home to many endemic species, including Yellow-crowned Parakeet (kākāriki), tūī and falcon (kārearea), but this incredible location and its wildlife is under serious threat because of introduced mammals.

“Having these additional traps on the ground will help to significantly reduce predator numbers,” Kavanagh adds.

SLS has been actively trapping in Bob’s Cove since 2022 and supporting the Whakatipu Wildlife Trust and Bob’s Cove Predator Control Group, by adding an arsenal of 20 AT220 traps that have removed more than 1000 predators. The new traps, funded by the Hugo Charitable Trust, will drastically increase this number, Kavanagh says.

The 28 self-resetting and live capture traps will be mounted with nodes, which feature an AI camera and a communications system to alert the SLS team of predator interactions. SLS was one of the first conservation groups in NZ to use the innovative predator-control technology.

Hugo Charitable Trust CEO Aoibheann Monaghan says conservation is an important priority for the Trust and supports initiatives that protect the natural environment for generations to come.

“We appreciate Southern Lakes Sanctuary’s way of working together with other conservation organisations and their collaborative approach,” she says. “When this opportunity came up to support the work they are doing at Bob’s Cove, we felt it fit perfectly with us.”

The Hugo Charitable Trust contributed $1,503,000 to community groups between 2023-2024, with more than 10% given to environmental groups in NZ. Since it was established in 2017, the Trust has donated more than $18 million to charities throughout NZ.

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