Updated pest culprits poster
20 September 2019
For this year's Conservation Week we've updated our culprits poster to show the 30 pest animal species featured on Pest Detective.
Download the poster from our kids' activities page. It has been sized for A2 printing but can alternatively be printed to fit smaller A3 or A4 paper.
Why are these animals pests?
All the pest animals featured on Pest Detective have been introduced to New Zealand either by accident or intentionally for various reasons.
They are regarded as pests because they threaten the health of our native ecosystems and/or primary production sector. Their adverse impacts can include preying on or competing with native species, damaging crops or spreading disease.
Some species that are regarded as pests in some situations are valued in other situations, such as for hunting, agriculture or as pets. In these instances, management is required to minimise their pest impacts while recognising their community or economic values.
Why aren't the culprits in alphabetical order?
The species are generally grouped with those that leave similar signs in the field and could, therefore, be mistaken for one another. For instance, plague skink is next to mouse as their droppings are similarly small in size and in shape. Each group of more closely related species (e.g. the deer or mustelids) are arranged by size from small to large.
The same order has been used throughout the culprits and clues sections of the Pest Detective website. If you browse through the clue categories you will start to recognise the similarities and differences between the individual species and groups.