Hunt for stoat on pest-free Hauraki Gulf islands continues as parakeet found dead

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Footage showing a stoat killing a native seabird chick in burrows near Raglan. A widely used figure puts the number of native birds killed each year by predators at 25 million.

A kākāriki has been found dead on a pest-free island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf where a stoat remains on the loose.

Stoat footprints were spotted by a ranger on Motutapu Island on May 20.

Stoats pose a significant risk to threatened native birds and lizards and the alert comes just a few weeks after a stoat was confirmed on the neighbouring Motukorea/Browns Island in mid-March.

Department of Conservation (DOC) Auckland Inner Islands operations manager Katherine Lane said it was not yet known if the stoat found on Motutapu was the same one found on Motukorea.

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'Auckland Council are still doing surveillance on Motukorea.'

It is unknown at this stage whether the stoat found on Motutapu Island in May is the same stoat detected on nearby Motukorea/Browns Island in mid-March (file photo).

DOC's trapping network was increased after a council stoat-detecting dog visited Motutapu and identified a stoat scent around Administration Bay, on the North West coast of the motu/island.

A network of traps are being re-baited with fresh rabbit meat and eggs across Rangitoto and Motutapu islands.

'DOC staff and Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, the iwi of the area, are regularly checking and re-baiting the traps.'

Such are its charms, a person was spotted on camera on Auckland's Motukorea/Browns Island early one morning during alert level 3 earlier this year.

However, one kākāriki — a New Zealand parakeet — has been found dead to date.

'We already know from prints and dog indication that the stoat was active in that area.'

The kākāriki was not being sent for testing as it was found in water, making detection of stoat DNA unlikely.

Auckland Council's Liz Brooks said as of Friday, the stoat on Motukorea/Browns Island had not been found.

Brooks said the island was still considered pest free as an incursion was not an established population of stoats.

'We hope to remove it and island will maintain its pest free status.'

She said the council believed the stoat most likely swam to the island at low tide.

'The island is less than 2 kilometres from mainland — Musik Pt — and stoats are very good swimmers - up to 3-4kms.'

Unlike neighbouring Motutapu Island, no flora or fauna had been harmed.

'We've only discovered dead rock pigeons from stoat predation.'

Although cameras had snapped Aucklanders on the island during both the coronavirus lockdown and alert level 3, Brooks said there was no enforcement action 'so far' as the footage was too grainy to identify people.

Kayakers, day visitors and even one person walking on the island at 1.30am had been captured on the cameras.

'These cameras are there to record movement of small animals, so they're not high quality images.'