Vegetation Damage

Damaged leaves, flowers, fruit and bark can indicate the presence of pest animals. Observe which plants are affected, which parts are damaged, and details such as bite marks.

Think about the height at which you find vegetation damage. If it is in the treetops (three or more metres above ground), ground-dwelling pest animal culprits can be ruled out. Remember that some ground-dwelling animals have a long reach e.g. some deer will rear up on their hind legs to get tasty morsels; e.g. goats and wallabies will climb sloping ground or trees. Also, look for animal sign at a range of scales. From a distance, you might see widespread defoliation in the canopy of bush or hrubland and you might notice certain plant species are more damaged than others. In the understorey environment see whether seedlings and ground layer plants have been browsed or are absent, and whether particular plant species are more affected than others.

Zoom in, too, on the detail of damage pest animals might inflict on foliage, flowers, fruit and bark. Clues at this scale include bite marks, ripped leaves, selection of plant species and scratch marks.

Narrow your search to specific types of Vegetation Damage:

Tree Tops (Canopy taller than 3m)

  • Possum veg 4 500x500 Possum damage: the same tree before, and two years after, possum control.
  • Goat veg 2 500x500 Goat damage to a canopy.

Understorey (less than 3m)

  • Possum veg 9 500x500 Possum-eaten understorey fern.
  • Rabbit veg 1 500x500 Rabbit damage to pasture.
  • Brown hare veg 1sq Brown hare browse on broom bush.
  • Dama wallaby veg 4sq Dama wallaby understorey damage (left) compared to exclosure plot (right), at Ōkataina.
  • PestDetec pic needed Bennett's wallaby browse - decimation of the indigenous forest understorey.
  • Goat veg 4 500x500 Goat damage to forest understorey.
  • PestDetec pic needed Chamois browse on understorey, native broom species or Mount Cook lily - photos needed.
  • PestDetec pic needed Himalayan tahr damage to alpine and sub-alpine vegetation - photos needed.
  • Fallow deer veg 8 500x500 Fallow deer have denuded this understorey.
  • Sika deer veg 4500x500 Sika deer inflict this kind of understorey damage through heavy browsing.
  • PestDetec pic needed Rusa deer vegetation damage to understorey.
  • PestDetec pic needed White-tailed deer damage to understorey.
  • PestDetec pic needed Sambar damage to understorey
  • Red deer veg 1 500x500 Red deer browsing can alter the composition of the understorey through selective browsing.
  • Wapiti habitatsq Typical wapiti habitat in Fiordland.
  • Pig veg 6 500x500 Feral pig rooting has caused this ground damage.
  • PestDetec info only alt Hedgehog understorey damage.
  • PestDetec info only alt Australian magpie damage to ground level vegetation
  • Rook veg 3sq A rook digging for invertebrates will damage grass and crops..
  • PestDetec pic needed Canada goose damage to ground-level vegetation.

Bark

  • PestDetec pic needed Norway rat damage to / stripping of bark.
  • Possum veg 3 500x500 Possum chews on kamihi, Stewart Island.
  • Rabbit veg 3 500x500 Rabbit-damaged shrub.
  • Brown hare veg 10sq Hare damage to bark, close-up.
  • Goat veg 14 500x500 Goat bark damage on five finger.
  • Fallow deer veg 7 500x500 Fallow deer rub on coprosma.
  • PestDetec pic needed Sika stag bark damage caused by rubbing antlers against the tree.
  • PestDetec pic needed Rusa deer bark damage.
  • White tailed deer veg 1 500x500 White-tailed deer damage to planted pine sapling.
  • Sambar deer veg 1 500x500 Sambar deer bark damage.
  • Red deer veg 7 500x500 Red deer damage to tree bark.
  • PestDetec pic needed Wapiti damage to bark - photos needed showing height of bark rubbing or bark biting, teeth marks on a bark-bitten tree, and also of a wapiti bull rubbing antlers on a tree.
  • Pig veg 4 500x500 Feral pig rubbing on a tree has damaged the bark.
  • Cat veg 1 500x500 Cat scratching damage to a cabbage tree.

Plant leaves

  • possum veg 13 500x500 Possum damage to mahoe leaves.
  • Rabbit veg 7 500x500 Rabbit damage to a pingao seedling, showing the typical straight-across bite, that remove the new growth.
  • Brown hare veg 8sq Hare browse on a regenerated seedling.
  • Dama wallaby veg 3sq Dama wallaby damage on a karamu seedling.
  • PestDetec pic needed Bennett's wallaby damage on leaves.
  • PestDetec pic needed Chamois leaf browse - photos needed.
  • PestDetec pic needed Himalayan tahr browse - close-up photos needed of damage to leaves of alpine and sub-alpine vegetation
  • PestDetec pic needed Fallow deer damage to leaves.
  • PestDetec pic needed Rusa deer damage to leaves.
  • Sika deer veg 2 500x500 Sika deer browsing can damage leaves in this way.
  • PestDetec pic needed White-tailed deer damage to leaves - photos needed.
  • Red deer veg 17 500sq Red deer browse on pate (seven-finger) leaves.
  • PestDetec pic needed Wapiti browse - photos needed of leaf browse sign that can be attributed to wapiti, alternatively of wapiti in act of grazing on grass/sedgelands or browsing on a shrub or tree
  • PestDetec info only alt Hedgehog leaf damage.

Fruits and Flowers

  • Mouse veg 1 500x500 Mouse foraging.
  • Kiori veg 1 500x500 Kiore eating nikau seeds.
  • Ship rat veg 1 500x500 Ship rat damage to hinau seeds.
  • PestDetec pic needed Norway rat damage to fruit and/or flowers.
  • possum veg 15sq Possum damage on lemons.
  • Brown hare veg 11sq Brown hare damage on an apple.
  • PestDetec pic needed Chamois damage - photos needed of damage to flowers, alpine grasses in flower or with seed heads. Alternatively of chamois browsing on any of these types of vegetation.
  • PestDetec pic needed Himalayan tahr - photos needed of damage to fruit (including seedheads) or flowers of sub-apline and alpine vegetation they typically browse.
  • PestDetec info only alt Hedgehog damage to fruit and flowers.
  • Rainbow lorikeet veg 1sq Rainbow lorikeet fruit damage.
  • PestDetec pic needed Rook walnut cache and/or nuts and seeds hidden in ground by rooks - photos needed.