By PHILIP ENGLISH
Stewart Island is no longer New Zealand's biggest stoat-free land mass. The predator that kills tens of thousands of mainland kiwi chicks a year has invaded the island.
After several years of unconfirmed sightings of stoats on the island, the Department of Conservation has firm proof - stoat footprints found at Long Harry Bay, on the northern coast.
The find raises fears for the island's own kiwi, one of two separate subspecies of the southern brown kiwi.
The Stewart Island kiwi, some known for their nocturnal beach antics foraging for sand hoppers among washed-up seaweed, are a growing tourist attraction. The island is regarded as one of the best places in New Zealand to see kiwi in the wild.
There is also a remote chance that stoats could swim from the island to Codfish Island, Whenua Hou, which has been cleared of predators by the department and is one of the main refuges for the extremely endangered kakapo.
Bait-shy, trap-wary and fertile, stoats are classed as New Zealand's number one predator of wildlife, and the most difficult to eradicate.
Sue Maturin of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society said the discovery was a disaster.
She said: "This is our last remaining big area of natural forested land. This is as significant as when the stoats first arrived in New Zealand."
Stoats threaten kiwi island haven
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