Hunter-Led Conservation Saving Species From Local Extinction With Sam The Trap Man

Written By Callum Armstrong

(Note: you can also listen to this episode on YouTube or Spotify)

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 looking after other people’s ngahere (forests), nobody had been looking after his… 

DOC didn’t have funding to help. So he got together with a bunch of hunting mates and started Eastern Whio Link.

What started as just 4 whio pairs in the Waioeka Gorge multiplied into 100+ chicks hatched in just a few short years.

Here are some of the things we discussed:

  • Sam’s formative years growing up in the Te Urewera forest with legendary trappers and hunters that kickstarted his career in conservation.

  • What it was like doing conservation work in the back blocks of Fiordland.

  • The incredible story of Eastern Whio Link and the amazing mahi (work) they’re doing.

  • Why we need to connect people back to their ecosystems, because when we’re connected, we care and protect them.

  • How learning to hunt and forage for kai (food) is a great way to connect people back to their ecosystems (especially younger people).

  • How hunters are becoming our conservation spies because they go to places that nobody else does and can spot species that weren’t known to live there...

  • Misunderstandings around how hunting fits into the conservation landscape and the role of population dynamics.

  • And much more…

👩About Sam:

Sam Gibson is a trapper and conservation worker who runs the popular Instagram page @sam_the_trap_man with over 19k followers. He's spent his life in the bush hunting, trapping and fishing, and has worked for DOC as well as private conservation companies.

In 2019, Sam established the Eastern Whio Link conservation project, restoring whio (native blue duck) to the rivers of the Waioeka on the East Coast, where he grew up. This work is largely done by volunteers and is bearing fruit - the team started with four breeding pairs, which have since birthed 100+ chicks, and he reports that the number of whio bobbing in the waters in the area is starting to increase noticeably.

🔗Learn more:

🎙️About the podcast:

The People Helping Nature podcast is brought to you by Conservation Amplified, a registered New Zealand charity that’s on a mission to make biodiversity conservation mainstream.

We do this by bringing a megaphone to the world of conservation by featuring people from all walks of life who are doing interesting and important things to help nature thrive. We aim to make it easy for everyone to learn, understand, take action, and feel like they’re a part of the solution.

Find out more about Conservation Amplified at www.conservationamplified.org.

🔗Connect with us:

Callum Armstrong
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