A drone survey of a feral population of emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790), on Rēkohu / Wharekauri / Chatham Island, Chatham Islands
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Other Title
Authors
James, Campbell
de Lange, Peter
Baling, Marleen
de Lange, Peter
Baling, Marleen
Author ORCID Profiles (clickable)
Degree
Grantor
Date
2026-02-04
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Type
Journal Article
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
Rēkohu / Wharekauri
Chatham Islands (N.Z.)
Aotearoa
New Zealand
birds
surveys
drone aircraft in wildlife research
Chatham Islands (N.Z.)
Aotearoa
New Zealand
birds
surveys
drone aircraft in wildlife research
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
James, C J., de Lange, P J., & Baling, M. (2026). A drone survey of a feral population of emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790), on Rēkohu / Wharekauri / Chatham Island, Chatham Islands. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 53, e70011. https://doi.org/10.1002/njz2.70011
Abstract
Species monitoring and surveying is strongly limited by habitat accessibility. A feral population of emu (Dromaius novaehollan diae) established from five birds deliberately released on Rēkohu / Wharekauri / Chatham Island more than 30 years ago has not yet been quantitively assessed with respect to its population number and status. To address this issue, we conducted a short manual UAV (drone) survey on a portion of the area where this population is said to be concentrated. In total 303min of flight/survey time over 5 days (January 2025), we made 70 observations of emu, including 45 adults and 25 juveniles, with a calculated 13.5 emu observations per drone hour. The most observations in a single day were 28 individual birds; 17 adults and 11 juveniles. The largest flocks of emu were six individuals: three adults with three juveniles, and another flock of an adult with five juveniles. There is a need for a more extensive survey to estimate the total population size and a more detailed investi gation into the ecology of this population to ascertain the potential impact emu may have on the farmland and associated indig enous terrestrial ecosystems on Rēkohu. Emu have also been released in several locations in Aotearoa / New Zealand, and we advocate for similar studies there
Publisher
Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi
Permanent link
Link to ePress publication
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/njz2.70011
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Authors
Copyright notice
© 2026 Royal Society of New Zealand Te Aprangi.