The “Hey DOC…” questions you ask us: Summer edition

Source: NZ Department of Conservation

We love hearing about and seeing you out naturing over the summer – keep tagging us in your adventures, we absolutely love it!

During this period, we get a lot, and I mean A LOT of people tagging us in posts and messaging us on our channels to ask us all sorts of interesting questions. You are such a passionate bunch!

We thought we’d help you out ahead of time, giving you all the answers and some bonus top tips to your summer questions

So, here’s a little cheat sheet we put together, answering the most common “Hey DOC…” questions you ask us over summer.

1) Hey DOC, what should I do with this wildlife that I found?

(We get this question asked of us about 15x per week over summer!) – We’re totally not bored of answering this question

Yay! You found some of our precious wildlife, we’re stoked for you. That’s what naturing is all about. Just remember you can’t do whatever you want with it and there’s some really important things to take note of.

Under the Wildlife Act 1953 it is illegal to hold, keep or possess native species – dead or alive, or parts of it (feathers, skin, bones, eggs) without a valid permit.

If you think you found a native species and it DOESN’T look distressed or injured, it’s best to leave it alone and admire it from a distance. Put the zoom on your phone camera to work and capture moment like this.

If you think you found a native/protected species and it DOESlook distressed or injured, call us on our DOC Hotline – 0800 362 468 – our team will give some advice and might come out to help the wildlife if needed.

To report illegal activity, a conservation emergency or report sick, injured or dead wildlife Call the DOC emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) find out more here.

If you see three or more sick or dead wild birds in a group, report it immediately to MPI’s Exotic Pest and Disease Hotline on 0800 80 99 66. 

2) Hey DOC, can you tell me what species this is?

Soon after you nearly fill your camera roll with photos and videos of all the birds, lizards and insects you’ve found, you may feel compelled to send all of them to us and ask us to tell you what it is. (Slight exaggeration but looking at some of you! )

While we have some really passionate experts, not every single one of our experts are available to help with an array of specific identifications on social media.

And for that reason – our expert’s time and resources – we don’t actually offer an on-demand species identification service, instead we kindly and politely suggest you use iNaturalist in the first instance.

You simply upload your photo findings to the platform, and the community of scientists, naturalists and experts will be able to identify the species for you. They might even provide some weird funky facts as some bonus information!

This is also a great place to start naturing from! Find the species you want to try and find over summer on iNaturalists, talk to the experts and then go out and find them.

3 Hey DOC, can you fix my booking for me?

If you want to modify a booking with us, the best way to do so is to log into your account, select your bookings, click on modify for the booking you wish to change and confirm. That’s basically it!.

If you need help with understanding our booking fees, how to use Backcountry Hut Passes and Hut Tickets and what to do with a change to your booking because of unforeseen circumstances, scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on “BOOKING FAQ” and troubleshoot your booking there.

If that doesn’t help and you’re truly stuck, click on “CONTACT US” and email our Bookings Team directly – this is the right place to go to, we have booking specialists taking in enquiries and we’re equipped to help you out ASAP.

We also have some incredibly helpful DOC Visitor Centres around the country that you can contact if you have a question about your upcoming trip/adventure.

4) Hey DOC, can my pet come along too?

It depends where you’re going and what you’re doing.

Simply put, pets and protected species don’t mix! Especially in national parks or wildlife areas and reserves, WITHOUT a DOC permit.

However, you CAN take your dog on public conservation land that we have approved dog access to – you’ll find more information about those places on our website.

Some places you will need a specific dog permit (like for hunting blocks) issued by the local DOC office, while other places you can take your dog, but you must follow the rules stated on the website and adhere to the signage around the area.

Visit our website to find:

• Tracks with dog access

• Campsites with dog access

 • Hunting areas with dog access

Here’s a great blog from earlier on in the year that goes into detail about dogs on conservation land

P.S. No, you cannot take your cat in a backpack in our national park, then proceed to feed it while you stop for lunch… This happened a couple of years ago and the person received a fine and were prosecuted. Don’t be like these people.

5 Hey DOC, where can I fly my drone?

Drones can stress out wildlife and used in the wrong areas can be a risk to wildlife, forests and people.

To use a drone, both recreationally and commercially, you will need a special drone permit from us.

Permits vary from place to place but in short, they are there to help ensure that the drone operator uses their drone responsibly, making sure that they’re not disturbing wildlife, that they’re considerate of other people’s privacy, that they respect Māori cultural values by involving hapū and iwi, they follow Civil Aviation Authority rules and that they follow relevant polices and plans.

You can find all of our detailed guidance in drone operations on conservation land and how to attain a permit here

6 Hey DOC, can I show you the marine mammal I saw today?

Marine mammals in the sea? REALLY!?

No, but seriously we would actually like to hear about it!

We’d love you to report it directly to our marinemammals@doc.govt.nz email. Our Marine Mammals Biodiversity experts are monitoring the inbox regularly over summer and your sightings will help them with information about population sizes, breeding rates and crucial movement patterns. All of this helps us in protecting marine mammals and their environment better.

You can also use our online Marine Mammals Sighting Form to make your reports here and it doesn’t need to be done immediately. Make notes on your phone and log it in online when you get home.

We want to hear about whales, dolphins, seals with tags and sea lions.

It’s really important that if you come across an entangled, stranded or dead marine mammal OR a Hector’s or Māui dolphin between Raglan and Wellington, or on the south or east coast of the North Island call us immediately on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).

We would much rather you call our emergency hot line number so our appropriate teams can act with speed, without having to navigate through the extra steps.

Find out more about how to report marine mammal sighting here

Hopefully, these questions we’ve answered will help while you’re out-and-about enjoying your summer adventures. Keep tagging us in posts, keep messaging us and keep asking us all of your interesting questions.

If you see us out this summer, we’d love you to stop and say hi when you’re out-and-about.

Have a fun, safe and enjoyable summer!

MIL OSI