A wild ginger cat believed to have been killing off New Zealand's rarest bird species is dead - but not before putting up a ferocious fight. The ginger tomcat was thought to be responsible for eating into the fairy tern population at Mangawhai in Northland for the past two years. With onlyabout 35 fairy terns in existence - all in Northland - it was posing a threat to the species. The cat was suspected of killing two fairy tern birds and eating three eggs and putting Doc's $70,000 per year recovery programme at risk. It was also believed to have killed other birds from different species. However, it was killed by Doc's natural predator dog Ranger Scott Theobald and his dog Jack at the Mangawhai sandspit on Tuesday. It had been their first attempt to find the cat after they had waited several months to allow the cat to become complacent. "We were looking for a big ginger tomcat that's been in the area and we killed a big ginger tomcat so it's a good chance it's him," Mr Theobald said. "It was a bit of a battle. Jack picked his scent up on the sandspit and chased him up a tree. I shot him out of the tree with a shotgun but he didn't die ... I don't know how he didn't die," Mr Theobald said. The cat then ran about 20 metres before Jack, a pure-bred border terrier, bailed it up. The cat then attacked Jack and ripped his ear which forced the dog to back off. Then Mr Theobald let rip with a second blast of his shotgun. "It was good-night nurse," Mr Theobald said. Weighing 4.5kg, the cat was "fat as mud and had a bit of age on him," Mr Theobald said. Mr Theobald warned another wild cat may soon take its place to further terrorize the birds at Mangawhai. When a dominant cat was taken out of an area it was only a matter of time before another one moved in, he said. "He would have chased them all away but now he's gone another one will eventually move in because it's good land (for feeding)." "That's how feral animals work. It's high maintenance stuff to keep on top of them." His wounded dog Jack was taken to the veterinarian this week - a dose of antibiotics and he would be fine, Mr Theobald said.
