About Pikiariki

Pikiariki Ecological Area is part of Pureora Forest Park, west of Taupo. It is one of the best examples of dense podocarp forest in NZ with its complex, multi-layered forest structure including towering rimu, kahikatea, matai and tōtara. 

High vegetative diversity is reflected in high faunal diversity, with native birds including North Island kākā, kākāriki/yellow-crowned parakeet, kārearea/NZ falcon, kererū, koekoeā/long-tailed cuckoo, korimako/bellbird, kōtare/sacred kingfisher, miromiro/North Island tomtit, pīpīwharauroa/shining cuckoo, pīwakawaka/fantail, riroriro/grey warbler, ruru/morepork, tauhou/silvereye, tītipounamu/rifleman, toutouwai/North Is robin and tūī.  

Both short- and long-tailed bats/pekapeka are present.  Pikiariki holds all the known communal roosts of the short-tailed bat population, so is the key site for this species at Pureora. Pikiariki is also the location of the healthiest dactylanthus population in NZ. It is only here that a functional relationship between dactylanthus and its only known contemporary native pollinator, the short-tailed bat, exists. 

Historically, threats to the forest have come from logging, and Pikiariki was one of the key sites where protest action in the 1980s put a stop to logging native forest.  The area of forest that remains at Pikiariki is a convoluted shape with a high edge to area ratio, which continues to make pest control challenging. 

Current threats include browsing from possums and deer.  Goats are not present, though there is threat from goats expanding their range into the forest. Introduced predators include cats, stoats, weasels, ship rats, mice, pigs and hedgehogs.