Rodent invades 'pest-free' kiwi creche island
Date: 08 February 2008
Footprints of a large rodent, most likely those of a Norway rat, have sparked a major Department of Conservation (DOC) trapping operation on Motuora, a 'pest-free' island in the Hauraki Gulf.
Motuora, which is jointly managed by DOC and the Motuora Restoration Trust and is home to young kiwi chicks and other threatened species, has never had mammalian predators such as rats, stoats or ferrets, making this a major blow.
The footprints were first sighted on Sunday, and new footprints were seen on Tuesday and again this morning.
Rory Renwick, Biodiversity Programme Manager for DOC, said the implications of a rat on the island are huge and it was important to catch the animal as soon as possible to avoid further risk to the island.
"We are using a large number of traps of various types, and different types of bait - we are doing all we can to catch this animal as soon as we can," he said.
Mr Renwick said it was most likely the rodent had arrived on the island as a stowaway in a visitor's boat, kayak or gear.
"Motuora is out of the range that rats have been known to swim, so the only other way it could have got here is via people. Even though it was probably inadvertent, it is disappointing that someone's lack of understanding of the risks has resulted in us having a rat here.
"We are always reminding people to check their gear and boats for pests before landing on, or near, conservation islands and this incident shows why."
Mr Renwick said Motuora was just one of a number of pest-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park that had been undergoing extensive restoration work.
"A rat can have such a huge impact on all the conservation work taking place on these islands.
"Quite simply, this is preventable. We all have a responsibility to protect these special places," he said
ENDS
Media Contact: Louise Skelton on 0275 111 222 or Liz Maire on +64 9 425 7842 or 021 234 0831.
Notes:
- Motuora is an 80 hectare island, five kilometres east of Mahurangi Heads, north of Auckland. It is jointly managed by the Department of Conservation and the Motuora Restoration Trust.
- The island pays a key part in Operation Nest Egg, a programme supported by the Bank of New Zealand Save the Kiwi Trust. North Island brown kiwi chicks are sent to Motuora when they hatch, and live there until they are big enough to withstand stoat predation.
- There are currently an estimated 60 kiwis on the island.
- Motuora is being restored with plantings of native trees and the introduction of threatened native species, such as Diving petrels, Shore skinks and Duvaucel's geckos.