Summer is the height of the stoat trapping season as far as trappers protecting kiwi on the Kiwi Coast are concerned. At this time of the year, the trappers are working extra hard in the summer heat trying to catch cunning stoats before they prey upon our vulnerable kiwi chicks and other native wildlife.
Stoats are very good hunters and kill several times a day. In colder climates where they originate, they stash their prey in the snow and come back to feast on it later. This does not work in Northland where the catch deteriorates quickly in our warm, wet climate – so they just keep killing…
Did you know that stoats kill 95% of kiwi chicks before they reach their first birthday? 
Successfully controlling stoats to a level that will help kiwi and other wildlife to thrive is only achieved by sheer hard work and dedication using purpose designed traps. However as this video of a stoat investigating a DOC 200 stoat trap shows, stoats are very intelligent hunters and can be difficult to entice into a trap:
Stoat investigates DOC 200 (Video provided by Dave Cullen)
However, community-led groups and kiwi recovery projects work hard to keep stoat numbers down.
In 2013 alone 647 stoats were trapped by groups and projects throughout the Kiwi Coast. Imagine how many kiwi and other wildlife were saved by this!
The pest control results for 2014 are starting to be collated now. To contribute your data to the Shared Pest Control Results you can fill in this form.
If you want to find out more about stoats and how to trap them check out the Northland Pest Control Guidelines or contact the Kiwi Coast to get on the invite list for the next Trapping Workshop.
