Hunter-Led Conservation Saving Species From Local Extinction (with Sam The Trap Man)

People usually think of hunting & gathering as something completely separate from conservation.

But when the forest is your food basket, you see places and species that others don’t notice.

You see the trends through the seasons, and you know when something isn’t right…

Sam (Hamiora) Gibson, also known as Sam The Trap Man, spent his younger years trapping, fishing and hunting in the Waioeka Gorge, between Opotiki and Gisborne.

They would hear kiwi call at night and rivers were packed with whio (native blue duck).

Then he moved away to Fiordland to broaden his conservation horizons. When he returned, the whio had practically disappeared, and kiwi couldn’t be heard calling.

While Sam had been loo ...