# data[].attributes.headline
Our ancestors didn’t come to Aotearoaalone. They came with rats, kurī, mice,ferrets, cats, stoats, possums, deer, pigs,and goats … to name just a few. Some ofthese species, such as deer, were broughtfor sport. Possums and ferrets werebrought for their fur. Ship rats and micewere stowaways.These introduced creatures have had ahuge impact on our environment. The kioreor Pacific rat, which was brought to NewZealand by the East Polynesians around1300, contributed to the extinction ofsome native bird species before Pākehāarrived. Bird numbers declined further whenEuropeans came with their species, suchas stoats. These are especially dangerouspredators because they can climb treesand swim.Then there are possums. New Zealandis said to have around 30 million. Like stoats,possums prey on baby birds and birds’ eggs –although the most serious damage theycause is to native trees. Possums eat a hugenumber of leaves. This can stress a tree somuch it will eventually die. Some forestshave lost all of their rātā and kāmahi,two of the possum’s favourite species.Possums also eat flowers, berries, andseedlings. This prevents regrowth. It alsomeans less food for native birds.

# data[].attributes.subject
Our ancestors didn’t come to Aotearoaalone. They came with rats, kurī, mice,ferrets, cats, stoats, possums, deer, pigs,and goats … to name just a few. Some ofthese species, such as deer, were broughtfor sport. Possums and ferrets werebrought for their fur. Ship rats and micewere stowaways.These introduced creatures have had ahuge impact on our environment. The kioreor Pacific rat, which was brought to NewZealand by the East Polynesians around1300, contributed to the extinction ofsome native bird species before Pākehāarrived. Bird numbers declined further whenEuropeans came with their species, suchas stoats. These are especially dangerouspredators because they can climb treesand swim.Then there are possums. New Zealandis said to have around 30 million. Like stoats,possums prey on baby birds and birds’ eggs –although the most serious damage theycause is to native trees. Possums eat a hugenumber of leaves. This can stress a tree somuch it will eventually die. Some forestshave lost all of their rātā and kāmahi,two of the possum’s favourite species.Possums also eat flowers, berries, andseedlings. This prevents regrowth. It alsomeans less food for native birds.

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Craig, Stu, and Robbie decided tobrainstorm a hundred different waysa trap could reset itself. “It was a bignumber,” says Stu, “but we wanted toexplore all our options.” There was anidea for a solar-powered trap. There wasone inspired by a mechanical systemused in old watches. Designs with themost promise were taken to the nextstage: the prototype. “An idea couldonly be taken so far on paper,” Stu says.“The best way to figure out if a trapdesign would work was to make it andtest it. The idea had to be made real.”Then the stroke of luck: Craig got hisflat tyre. Compressed gas was cheap andaccessible – it might be a great way topower a trap. But the big question washow exactly would this system work?The friends didn’t know it, but findingthe best design would be a long way off. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Craig, Stu, and Robbie decided tobrainstorm a hundred different waysa trap could reset itself. “It was a bignumber,” says Stu, “but we wanted toexplore all our options.” There was anidea for a solar-powered trap. There wasone inspired by a mechanical systemused in old watches. Designs with themost promise were taken to the nextstage: the prototype. “An idea couldonly be taken so far on paper,” Stu says.“The best way to figure out if a trapdesign would work was to make it andtest it. The idea had to be made real.”Then the stroke of luck: Craig got hisflat tyre. Compressed gas was cheap andaccessible – it might be a great way topower a trap. But the big question washow exactly would this system work?The friends didn’t know it, but findingthe best design would be a long way off. 

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Designing a self-setting trap that usedgas became the team’s focus. Therewere a lot of false starts. “At first wetook a traditional trap for smaller pestsand tried to modify it,” Stu remembers.“These traps trigger when a rat or stoatsteps on a steel plate.” There wereproblems with this design. The trapsometimes misfired, and it didn’t killquickly enough. “We decided to try againwith a possum trap,” says Stu.To get the best result, the teamneeded to know more about possums.How did they behave around traps?What did they like to eat? To learn theanswers, Robbie had a great idea:filming possums in the bush. Fromwatching the footage, the friends learntthat possums used their paws to hold onto the trees. They also poked their headsinto the traps. Learning things like thislimited the need for guesswork when itcame to refining the design.To attract possums, the team alsoresearched the best lure. “In the end,we decided to employ a biochemist,”Stu says. “Again, we found out thingswe’d never have learnt on our own –like possums are attracted to cinnamon.They can smell it a long way off.” 

# data[].attributes.subject
Designing a self-setting trap that usedgas became the team’s focus. Therewere a lot of false starts. “At first wetook a traditional trap for smaller pestsand tried to modify it,” Stu remembers.“These traps trigger when a rat or stoatsteps on a steel plate.” There wereproblems with this design. The trapsometimes misfired, and it didn’t killquickly enough. “We decided to try againwith a possum trap,” says Stu.To get the best result, the teamneeded to know more about possums.How did they behave around traps?What did they like to eat? To learn theanswers, Robbie had a great idea:filming possums in the bush. Fromwatching the footage, the friends learntthat possums used their paws to hold onto the trees. They also poked their headsinto the traps. Learning things like thislimited the need for guesswork when itcame to refining the design.To attract possums, the team alsoresearched the best lure. “In the end,we decided to employ a biochemist,”Stu says. “Again, we found out thingswe’d never have learnt on our own –like possums are attracted to cinnamon.They can smell it a long way off.” 

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After three years, in 2010, the friendsfinally had a trap they were happy with.Their new model was self-setting andgas powered – and designed to firewhen a possum bit on a trigger.This meant the animal’s head was inthe right place to be killed instantly.The trap was humane, and it was alsoefficient. A small canister of compressedgas was enough to kill twelve times.Early feedback from users waspositive. The traps were easy to useand reliable. Best of all, data from thefield showed that the new traps workedbetter than the traditional traps, evenwhen the old ones were regularlycleared and reset. These findings werebacked up by the trappers themselves.One trapper said the same trap killedthree possums in one night. But for thethree designers, the ultimate proof wasthe recovery of native species in theplaces where their traps were beingused. Spurred on by success, the teamwent on to design a smaller self-settingmodel to catch rats and stoats. 

# data[].attributes.subject
After three years, in 2010, the friendsfinally had a trap they were happy with.Their new model was self-setting andgas powered – and designed to firewhen a possum bit on a trigger.This meant the animal’s head was inthe right place to be killed instantly.The trap was humane, and it was alsoefficient. A small canister of compressedgas was enough to kill twelve times.Early feedback from users waspositive. The traps were easy to useand reliable. Best of all, data from thefield showed that the new traps workedbetter than the traditional traps, evenwhen the old ones were regularlycleared and reset. These findings werebacked up by the trappers themselves.One trapper said the same trap killedthree possums in one night. But for thethree designers, the ultimate proof wasthe recovery of native species in theplaces where their traps were beingused. Spurred on by success, the teamwent on to design a smaller self-settingmodel to catch rats and stoats. 

# data[].attributes.body
$199.00