Thread: Plagues of Rats and Mice

Same with Sika. In the Ecology creek they got to plague proportions and got thinner and thinner and started dying. Then the population sort of settled. They did some damage to the bush in the mean time though. This was maybe 1985-90.

It was referred to as "Sika Die Back" by DOC and occurred right through that upper Rangatikei river area but the Ecology seemed to be the worst.

No natural predators except man.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Same with Sika. In the Ecology creek they got to plague proportions and got thinner and thinner and started dying. Then the population sort of settled. They did some damage to the bush in the mean time though. This was maybe 1985-90.

It was referred to as "Sika Die Back" by DOC and occurred right through that upper Rangatikei river area but the Ecology seemed to be the worst.

No natural predators except man.

like that ecology area,,if those turkeys at dept of cnuts were to let hunters land as and when we could have a good go and help the deer out

Originally Posted by 264 magic

like that ecology area,,if those turkeys at dept of cnuts were to let hunters land as and when we could have a good go and help the deer out

They put a pad in at the mouth eventually but its use was fairly restricted. I used to go in through the saddle in the headwaters via Makorako. Bugger of a walk.

Originally Posted by Tahr

They put a pad in at the mouth eventually but its use was fairly restricted. I used to go in through the saddle in the headwaters via Makorako. Bugger of a walk.

joe keeley used to drop us in a saddle above the mangamaire,,reds n sika of course,,very enjoyable spot(about halfway up the mangamaire but time does cloud the mind)

nature finds a balance and always has, even before we turned up on the scene.

Where did you come in from Tahr? Boyd/Mangamingi?

Originally Posted by Maxx

Where did you come in from Tahr? Boyd/Mangamingi?

3 ways. The Boyd/Managamingi/Island Range walk and Urchin/Thunderbolt and down. Later on I did some trips getting dropped off in the Makorako stream and hoofing it over the saddle into the Ecology. That only took and hour or so.

I once headed off via the polled route off the Desert Rd for Ecology but the hunting was so good mid way I never got to Ecology.

The silliest walk I ever did was to see some mates who were in Ken's hut in the Tauranga Taupo and I went via Kiko Rd and up over the top. That was a tough trip.

Yep have seen same things with rodents. Remember seeing a plague of rats a few years back too. If you are seeing them out and about there are a million of the wee buggars there. I also noticed the same thing. They were all gone the next year. Problem is that in that time they do huge damage and our natives get hammered in the mean time. When you talk about deer and bush and rodents and mast years etc etc. the 'natural' balance means that a lot of native species disappear. Looking at how sika modify the bush is quite dramatic in places. Broadleaf only grows under a cm in height (below browse height) or out of cliffs. Or in older trees that established when deer were not in numbers. This thread is really at the heart of the confusion and conflict between hunters and conservationists. Lets be honest folks, some hunters still think if the bush still looks green and there are plants growing then things must be OK. And some conservationists believe that one deer is one too many. We need people who speak and understand both languages to interpret for both parties and help find a practical, workable happy middle ground.

Originally Posted by Tahr

3 ways. The Boyd/Managamingi/Island Range walk and Urchin/Thunderbolt and down. Later on I did some trips getting dropped off in the Makorako stream and hoofing it over the saddle into the Ecology. That only took and hour or so.

I once headed off via the polled route off the Desert Rd for Ecology but the hunting was so good mid way I never got to Ecology.

The silliest walk I ever did was to see some mates who were in Ken's hut in the Tauranga Taupo and I went via Kiko Rd and up over the top. That was a tough trip.

Surprised you found the walk to Kens tough compared to the Rangitikei via Urchin/T'bolt? That is an honest walk!