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The Sanctuary Mountain project began with a dream to protect the diversity of plant and animal species living on Maungatautari. Many of our community, including landowners, local iwi and local residents, have a strong emotional connection with the mountain and were spurred into action to protect it.
Maungatautari Mountain was first made into a reserve in 1912 after a wildlife service survey found the forest to be of high significance. Nearly 100 years later, another survey, this time of 2000 Waikato residents, found a favourable majority were supportive of protecting Maungatautari with a pest-proof fence and restoring the area for visitors. A year later, the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust (MEIT) was formed.
Creating our ecological island sanctuary
Because of its mainland situation, the creation of our ecological island required completely enclosing the perimeter of our 3,400 hectare mountain with a 47 km pest-proof fence. The Trust, with the help of a supportive community, raised NZ$14.5m for the fence project. Before construction of the perimeter fence, two trial areas of 35 hectares and 65 hectares were developed to prove that a pest-proof fence could be constructed and maintained in a tall forest environment, and to test pest eradication and monitoring techniques.
The fence around Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari is the longest pest-proof fence in the world, excluding all mammalian pests (other than mice on the main mountain), pets and livestock from getting over, under or through it.
The fence around Sanctuary Mountain
Fence facts
- The fence includes more than 850,000 staples, 50,000 battens, 8,500 three metre posts and 240km of high tensile wire
- An electronic surveillance system operates 24 hours per day to detect fence breaches
- The volunteer effort in maintaining the fence and monitoring pests involves more than 250 hours per month and the equivalent of 37 full time staff
Keeping pests at bay
Pests that have been eradicated include hedgehogs, cats, Norway rats, ship rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels, rabbits, hares, possums, deer, pigs and goats.
Risk management techniques include:
Electronic surveillance
Creation of ‘cells’
Pest control outside of fence
Continual monitoring of fence and pests
Guardianship of our project by adjoining farmers
Reintroducing native wildlife
A range of species has been successfully reintroduced to the maunga including kiwi, kaka, kokako, takahe, hihi (stitchbird), kakariki, tieke (saddleback), Mahoenui Giant Weta and endangered native fish species such as giant and banded kokopu.
Since kiwi were returned to the maunga after an estimated 100 year absence, pairs have been breeding successfully and we have now started releasing kiwis back onto the main mountain. We act as a nursery, raising young kiwi chicks until they are around 1.2kg (stoat proof) and can be released to create new populations in other locations. We are building up a ‘founder’ population which will ensure stronger genetic diversity for future generations of kiwi. We do this in conjunction with other kiwi recovery operations aligned with Kiwis for Kiwi and ONE (Operation Nest egg). We also act as a crèche and a holding facility for these groups.
Two pairs of critically endangered takahe (of which there are about 280 left in the world) were introduced to a protected area on the mountain, with one pair breeding successfully now for over four years. We are part of the takahe recovery plan and work closely with Takahe Recovery to manage the survival of this endangered bird.
Re-introduced kaka currently call Maungatautari home and are breeding so successfully that a flock of 26 has been reported, and visitors regularly get opportunities to observe and photograph the birds in the popular Southern Enclosure.
Two groups of North Island robins have been re-introduced and un-banded chicks prove that they are thriving in the protected ecosystem of Sanctuary Mountain.
100 Mahoenui Giant Weta, the largest and heaviest insects in the world and one that’s remained largely unchanged for the past 190 million years, were reintroduced onto the maunga in 2012 and a further 100 early in 2013.
A Pacific gecko was the first gecko in over 30 years to be found on the maunga, and several forest geckos have since been found inside the protective areas of the fence. This gecko has a full tail, meaning it has never been attacked by a predator.
A flourishing ecosystem
Due to the eradication of mammalian pests, many native species are flourishing on the maunga, providing a valuable food source for re-introduced species. One survey found native beetles in the Southern Enclosure had increased by at least 300% in the first two years since the area was enclosed and completely cleared of pests.
Surprise discoveries
In April 2006, a stand of about 100 silver beech (a native tree of southern New Zealand and previously thought by botanists to be absent from Maungatautari) was found, presumably surviving in this location unaltered from the last ice age.
Download our timeline of significant events at Maungatautari (pdf)
