Mainland islands
Pest control methods
Rodents and other predators have been eradicated from several offshore islands which, as nature reserves, are now safe havens for many rare and endangered species.
On the mainland, six official "mainland islands" have been established. These are areas of intense predator management, making them also safe for vulnerable species. But pest control is on-going throughout DOC managed land.
1080 poison can suppress rats when seed production in New Zealand forests causes rodent irruptions. When this happens huge numbers of native birds are killed by rats and stoats. Scientist Graeme Elliott explains in this video:
New Zealand's bats are rapidly heading towards extinction caused by rat plagues.
In this video Dr Colin O'Donnell explains how biodegradable 1080 poison protects bats on a scale unmatched by rat trapping.
This video shows that in the Maruia Valley nine parakeet nests were monitored though a 1080 operation designed to suppress a rat plague in November 2009. One nest was eaten by either a rat or a stoat the other eight were fine.
In places where 1080 has not been used to stop rat plagues, entire populations of parakeets have been destroyed by predators.
Videos by Trakabat
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C.M. King (Ed.), 2005: The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals, Second Edition. Oxford University Press.