Pukaha Mt Bruce have just released the following sad news:
A further five kiwi have fallen victim to a predator attack. All signs indicate another ferret, quite possibly the female partner of the large male caught recently, who was responsible for the previous attack.
Comments Pukaha Mount Bruce Board chair, Bob Francis, “Despite our year-round intensive pest control programme and additional trapping activity since the first attack, we are facing a real challenge to put a stop to this”.
He continues, “Immediately following the first wave of attacks, the DOC team pulled in extra staff and resources including specialised staff and expert advisors, trained dog teams and extra traps to assist in tracking the killer. We want to assure our supporters and the public in general, we are throwing absolutely everything we can into the effort to catch what is likely to be the female partner of the ferret caught earlier.”
Pest Management – best practice in situ
The density of trapping at Pukaha is twice the national standard. We permanently have over 130 kms of trap lines, 540 traps targeting ferrets, stoats and weasels, and more than 1,000 bait stations aimed at rats and possums.
Area Manager for Wairarapa, Chris Lester is moved to comment on Pukaha’s pest control practice, “Prior to the loss of these kiwi, as part of our commitment to best practice, we commissioned the first of an ongoing series of independent expert reviews to ensure our pest management programme remains of the highest possible standard”.
The kiwi deaths starkly highlight the challenges of returning kiwi to the mainland. Studies show nine out of 10 kiwi born in the wild will die within their first year, without supporting pest control.
Pukaha is an unfenced sanctuary. We accept this is an ambitious but necessary programme to ensure long-term self-sustaining populations of kiwi on the mainland. While the losses are significantly lower than happen in the wild, we want to protect these birds and are determined to catch the killer.
