If you go looking for threatened species, people need to be ready to protect them. Otherwise, you’re just a tourist, Mason said. He decided to set up the event – in conjunction with the Piako Catchment Forum and the sponsorship of Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research – after more people became interested in his work. Zero Invasive Predators The $45m Predator Free South Westland project is a step towards New Zealand becoming predator free by 2050. The main issues of the day – maintenance of big old trees in the landscape and predator control. “Big old trees are vital for our bats as roosting sites and predator control is important because pests like possums and rats kill bats in their roosts or push bats out of potential roosting sites.”