Empty Resene paint cans were donated to the Department of Conservation to help them preserve lizards. Lizards are monitored to identify their species, sizes, population and health. But to monitor a lizard, you have to catch it first!

That's where the Resene paint cans come in. The cans are dug in flush with the ground, sardines or pears are used as bait and a layer of leaves is added for cover. A couple of sticks are placed across the top of the can, leaving a gap just big enough for a lizard, and finally the lid is put on top and held down with a rock to stop cats and rats getting in. DOC workers take the paint cans to a site and monitor them every day for about five days. Recently, they have been at Whangamata monitoring one of the last surviving mainland populations of moko skinks.

Pitfall trapping is the most widely used and most successful way of catching lizards.

Pictures courtesy of Department of Conservation.
From the Resene News – issue 1/2008