Taranaki Furbabies

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Taranaki Furbabies
Project Taranaki Furbabies
Group Wild for Taranaki
Topic Threats to biodiversity, Natural history
Resources online yes
School sessions yes
Level Primary, Intermediate
Phil Bendle pages Cats (Feral) Felis catus
Web address https://wildfortaranaki.nz/
Location

Project Overview[edit | edit source]

A Curious Minds Project

Although cats have lived alongside humans for a long time, there are many unanswered questions regarding our feline friends. Most importantly, "What does my cat get up to when I'm not around?"

This project seeks to investigate this question by surveying cat caretakers and physically tracking pet cats to determine how, or if, their wandering and foraging patterns overlap with native wildlife. Information from this investigation will also provide valuable information on cat welfare, for example how often pet cats are crossing roads, or coming in proximity to areas of known pest trapping and poisoning?

Partners in 'Taranaki Furbabies'[edit | edit source]

Wild for Taranaki (leader)

Central School New Plymouth

Makahu School

MAIN Trust NZ, Dr Dawn Mills (NP Vet Group), Dr Heidy Kikillus (VUW Cat Tracker NZ)

Information technology:[edit | edit source]

  • QGIS was used to visualise the GPS tracking data:
    • 'Time Manager' was used to show the day/night movements of cats
  • Camtesia Studio recorded the QGIS screen and produced the mp4 videos

Resources:[edit | edit source]

furbabies video cover.jpg

Project Video[edit | edit source]

See this comprehensive project video, made with thanks to the participating vets, school children, and the cats.  Project lead was Leigh Honnor , Wild for Taranaki

Final Curious Minds Report[edit | edit source]

Final report to MBIE, Taranaki Furbabies with links to maps and analysis of where cats went, daily travels, range and territory.

The project 'CatMap' followed on from 'Taranaki Furbabies' using the information and momentum generated in this project.