By the Department of Conservation

Together we can help protect New Zealand and our incredible wildlife. Here’s how:

  • Give wildlife space – getting too close can cause stress and injury.
  • Protect birds on the beach – avoid fenced off areas or groups of birds.
  • Keep your distance from seals – always stay 20 metres away from seals.
  • Respect whales and dolphins – if you’re on the water keep 50 metres away.
  • Be a tidy Kiwi – take all your rubbish with you.
  • Selfie safely – you don’t need to get close to get a great shot.
  • Fly drones responsible – follow the rules and check if you need a permit.
  • Control dogs – uncontrolled dogs pose a threat to endangered birds.
  • Prevent wildfires – head to checkitsalright.nz before you light.

Find out more at tiakinewzealand.com.

Disturbing Wildlife

  • If you’re out in nature, give wildlife their space. It’s tempting to try and get an up-close encounter but keeping your distance will avoid causing unnecessary stress or harm to any wildlife.
  • Each animal is vulnerable to disturbance in different ways. A harassed seal may attack in self-defence, a stressed kiwi may go into shock and could die.
  • New Zealanders love our kai, and our wildlife do too, but human food shouldn’t be shared with wildlife as it disrupts their natural behaviours.
  • Feeding wildlife teaches them to take food from humans and lowers their necessary natural suspicion, which is a crucial survival skill.
  • Some species (looking at you kea) have a gift for coaxing food from visitors, but you need to resist their charms!

Key blog post: The do’s and don’ts of interacting with NZ’s native wildlife | Conservation blog

Driving on Beaches

  • Driving on beaches is an iconic pastime for many New Zealanders, but our growing population and increasing four-wheel drive ownership is putting wildlife at risk.
  • Vehicles have the potential to run over highly camouflaged eggs and chicks. They can also cause harm through repeated disturbance to birds and chicks on the nest.
  • Vehicles can also destroy important sand dunes and plants that provide key habitat for wildlife and help to reduce beach erosion.
  • If you need to drive on a beach, do you research first and avoid sand dunes, protected areas, or obvious congregations of birds.

Key blog post: Beach birds and vehicles don’t mix | Conservation blog

Harassing Seals

  • Seals are cute, charismatic and currently experiencing a population comeback.
  • Seals are sometimes found in strange places, like city streets, this is normal exploratory behaviour. If a seal is in immediate danger call 0800 DOC HOT.
  • They are a wild animal and while they look cute and cuddly they can move fast and be very aggressive when threatened. Stay at least 20 metres away at all times.
  • Handling can also be very stressful for the animal, and moving very young pups away from where the mother has left it makes it very difficult for them to reunite.
  • It is an offence to disturb, harass, harm, injure or kill a seal. A dog owner whose dog attacks a seal could also face prosecution.

Key blog post: What to do if you find a seal | Conservation blog

Stressing Whales and Dolphins

  • If you’re lucky enough to see a whale or dolphin it can be an exhilarating feeling, but it is important to stay back and give them space.
  • On a boat, do not drive vehicles closer than 50 metres of a marine mammal if you can and ensure you travel no faster than idle or ‘no wake’ speed within 300 metres.
  • Flying drones in the vicinity of whales and dolphins can be highly disturbing. Even though an animal might not appear to be disturbed, it could be quite stressed.
  • Be smart about how you interact. Keep your distance, move slowly in parallel to the animals, do not circle them, obstruct their path or drive your boat through any pods.

Key blog post: How to safely interact with marine mammals | Conservation blog

Take Your Rubbish With You

  • Rubbish harms our environment and wildlife. This includes food scraps, which feed pests like rats, stoats and mice.
  • Be prepared to carry your rubbish away with you. There are no bins in the bush. It helps to come prepared with a container or bag for rubbish and to remove excess packaging before you go.
  • There aren’t many toilets in our wild places. Always use a loo when you can. Make sure you know what to do if you get caught short and can’t wait for the next loo.

Key blog post: Hide your snacks: Litter and our birds | Conservation blog

Photographing Wildlife

  • We share the responsibility to look after the species that make New Zealand unique. Take stunning photos of our wildlife while respecting their space and habitat.
  • The perfect selfie is not worth putting your own safety at risk or stressing out our wildlife. If your social media boasts close ups with New Zealand’s native animals, your followers will wonder about the risk to the animals to get that shot.
  • You don’t need to get close to get a great shot – it’s amazing what the right camera settings and proper focus can do.

Key blog post: DOC’s top five wildlife photography tips | Conservation blog

Flying Drones Responsibly

  • There are some simple rules for flying drones near wildlife – follow the Civil Aviation rules, check the DOC website to see if you need a permit and always keep your distance from wildlife.
  • These rules are not there to kill your fun, but drones can stress or injure wildlife and can affect other people’s enjoyment in nature.

Key blog post: Some simple rules for drone users | Conservation blog

Controlling Dogs and Other Pets

  • New Zealanders love their pets, but we also love our unique native species.
  • Domestic pets pose a threat to endangered birds such as kiwi and whio, and other native species including geckos and bats.
  • Dogs aren’t allowed in some conservation areas, like National Parks, as the risk to native wildlife is too great. In other areas dogs are allowed but must be kept on a lead. Visit the DOC website to find tracks and campsites where dogs are welcome.

Key blog post: Dogs on conservation land | Conservation blog

Preventing Wildfires

  • Larger, more intense wildfires are on the rise in New Zealand. If you are considering lighting a fire visit checkitsalright.nz to see whether it’s allowed.
  • Never light a fire during a fire ban and if in doubt, skip it altogether. The best way to stay safe in a fire is to avoiding starting one in the first place.
  • If you do encounter a wildfire, head away from the fire as fast as possible and call 111.

Key blog post: Preventing and responding to wildfires | Conservation blog