Landcare Research
John is the leading rat biologist in the Waikato. His most significant contribution to conservation at the national and international level was his team’s discovery that possums eat native birds and their eggs and young and are not just vegetarians.
This revelation not only permanently refocused subsequent possum control throughout New Zealand, it also led directly to an innovative experimental pest management programme sustained over 8 years, which produced convincing evidence of the cause of kokako decline.
Dr. John Innes
Landcare Research
Waikato Regional Council Environmental Science Award
John is the leading rat biologist in the Waikato. His most significant contribution to conservation at the national and international level was his team’s discovery that possums eat native birds and their eggs and young and are not just vegetarians.
This revelation not only permanently refocused subsequent possum control throughout New Zealand, it also led directly to an innovative experimental pest management programme sustained over 8 years, which produced convincing evidence of the cause of kokako decline.