Effort to save rare duck fits the bill

Multi-kill, gas-powered traps are boosting hopes our rarest duck can be saved from extinction.

The whio is elusive, endemic, endangered — and the only duck in the world to whistle instead of quack.

The rare whio, or blue duck, lives in the Ruahine Ranges and is a national icon, featured on our $10 note.

But it’s not money that’s saving these ducks. It’s the efforts of volunteers trapping stoats, rats and weasels. Ruahine Whio Protectors Trust chairwoman Janet Wilson has dedicated the past 10 years to bringing the duck back from the brink of extinction. She said recent innovations in traps had proved heartening for those having to tramp deep into the ranges to reset traps.

“This trap kills. It can go on killing rather than those box traps . . .”

Wilson said there were fewer than 3000 whio in the country and it was far more endangered than the kiwi.

If you want to join the fightback, contact the Ruahine Whio Protectors www.rwp.org.nz or find them on Facebook.