Come behind the scenes and into the jobs, the challenges, the highlights, and the personalities of the people who work at the Department of Conservation (DOC).
Today kick starts Whio Awareness Month. To celebrate, we profile whio fan Tim Allerby, Ranger—Biodiversity Ranger, in DOC’s Te Urewera/Whirinaki Area Office.
The first whio chicks on the upper Tauranga river (November 2012) since 2008, well worth the early start
At work
Name: Tim Allerby.
Position: Biodiversity Ranger.
Office: Te Urewera/Whirinaki Area.
Some things I do in my job include…
- Providing advice/support for whio related operations throughout the Te Urewera/Whirinaki Area and its surrounds.
- Implementing and managing stoat control operations for whio with the Northern Te Urewera.
- Carrying out outcome monitoring of whio and kōkako.
- Assisting with the trialling of A24 self resetting traps.
The best bit about my job is…
Catching stoats and seeing whio chicks on rivers.
Flying stoat traps into the upper Tauranga River site 2012
The funniest DOC moment I’ve had so far is…
The eruption of disgust, laughter, and bewilderment from thirty-plus totally sucked in kids and adults after I tasted stoat poo (Marmite) to confirm that it was indeed stoat poo during a mock up whio mortality scene investigation.
The DOC (or previous DOC) employee that inspires or enthuses me most is…
Captain Whio (aka Andrew Glaser)—without his passion and persistence for whio protection we would not be in the position we are at with respect to whio recovery.
Captain Whio (Andrew Glaser), Duck Boy and the motley Te Urewera Mainland Island crew
On a personal note…
The song that always cheers me up is…
All I ever need is you – Kenny Rogers and Dottie West.
My stomping ground is…
Waimana Valley in the mighty Te Urewera National Park.
If I could trade places with any other person for a week—famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional—it would be…
Donald Trump. I would cover every bit of New Zealand conservation land in double set DOC200s (traps) and set aside enough money for those traps to be checked once a month for the next 100 years.
If I could be any New Zealand native species I’d be…
A karearea. They are definitely the boss of the sky.
If I wasn’t working at DOC, I’d like to…
Become an astronaut. I’d like to look back at Earth from space. Maybe one day Jet Star will do cheap deals?
Looking and feeling awesome after stopping a branch from hitting the ground with my head (kōkako translocation 2009)
Deep and meaningful…
My favourite quote is…
What’s the worst that could happen? – Kobey Brebner.
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is…
No hunter will ever have surplus brownie points so you just have to realise this and accept it.
In work and life I am motivated by…
Doing the best that I can. I always have high expectations of myself in whatever I do so I always push myself to reach those goals.
My conservation advice to New Zealanders is…
Do as much as you can whenever you can, no matter how little or insignificant you think it may be.
Inserting a transponder into a whio
Question of the week…
‘Question of the week’ will differ each week. If you have any suggestions for questions, please leave us a comment.
What’s your signature dish?
Not being the greatest cook I don’t think I can claim a signature dish however I can cook venison a thousand ways. While I am in the bushes I am particularly fond of venison heart, garlic, and onions all fried in a generous lashing of butter.
Watch this video of Tim Allerby talking about his work saving whio/blue duck:
