Our native and endangered species are being given a new tool to help boost their chance of survival.
A mega trap has been developed, which has a much higher success rate of catching predators than what's currently available.
Developed by the cacophony project over four years, its spring-loaded blinds snap shut when movement is detected inside.
The trap then leads the likes of rats, possums and hedgehogs to a holding cage.
“Catching something pretty much every time we set it makes a real difference,” Matthew Hellicar of the Cacophony Project told 1 NEWS.
“Effectively what this gives us is a high catch rate trap that is going to be about 30 to 35 times more effective than a lot of the traps that are out there today.”
Environmental groups have been encouraging people to set traps in their own backyard.
DOC is now trialling the new technology.
“We're really hoping it will be a game changer around our bird breeding areas. It's a valuable piece of kit, we probably can't afford hundreds and hundreds of them like we need,” DOC’s Andy Thompson said.
The mega trap has a price tag of $5000.
This is expected to come down as more orders are made - helping to ensure our native species can thrive once again.
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