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Home >
Our Land and Freshwater
> Funded Programmes
> On Conservation Land
> Offshore Islands > Hauturu Island |
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Hauturu/Little Barrier Island |
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Planning and preparation for an operation to eradicate kiore (Polynesian rat) from the 2817 hectare Hauturu/Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf is now well advanced. This project, funded by the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, will remove the only remaining introduced predator from the island nature reserve. Kiore threaten the survival of several endangered native animal and plant species found there. Hauturu is one of New Zealand’s most important island wildlife refuges because, with the exception of kiore and feral cats, it has been largely free of New Zealand's other main introduced predators. Feral cats were eradicated in 1980. Hauturu is the only large area of primeval forest left in the country relatively undisturbed by browsing mammals such as possums and goats. As such, it is an invaluable refuge for rare and endangered plants, birds and animals whose mainland habitats have been destroyed. At present Hauturu has the most diverse range of native birds and reptiles of any island in the country, and is home to the last natural and only viable population of hihi (stitchbird) and the last wetapunga (giant weta) population. Eliminating kiore is essential if native species are to flourish. Kiore eat the eggs and young of threatened species such as tuatara, chevron and striped skink, Duvaucel’s gecko, and titi (Cook’s petrel). Wetapunga are also at risk and have declined on the island, at least in part due to kiore. Kiore are thought to have contributed to the loss of several bird species from Hauturu, although cats would also have played a part in this. The rat also threatens the native Dactylanthus (pua o te reinga), also known as wood rose, and eats the seeds and seedlings of 11 species of coastal trees, preventing their natural regeneration. An aerial drop of rat baits is planned for next winter, once resource consents are obtained. The anticoagulant brodificaoum (the same active ingredient as in the household poison Talon) will be used to avoid problems with trap or bait-shy rats. This method has been used successfully on other islands, such as Kapiti, with no loss of any populations of native species. |
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