The broad expanse of the Mackenzie Basin is home to an interesting assemblage of native and introduced wildlife. This work is biogeographic with a focus on the movements of ferrets, one of the key predators in the wildlands of the braided riverbeds in the Mackenzie Basin. A carnivore, the ferret favours pasture, rough grassland and dry tussock grassland habitats where their major prey, rabbits, have been found in abundance. In this type of work geographic position is central to being able to understand what is happening and where.
Aerial photographs provide useful habitat information.
Preliminary analysis of tracking shows that ferrets utilise habitat edges, such as the base of river banks and the side of river channels. They rarely venture onto riverbeds and so do not frequent areas in close proximity to nesting birds as was initially thought. The predator biogeography project is a good example of collaborative research between geographers and ecologists, universities and Crown Research Institutes, and between researchers and land managers. A characteristic of the project is the use of the geographic technologies of GPS and GIS, and the results are potentially useful for conservation and land management.