DoC peppering park with traps to save kiwi

Hundreds of stoat traps will be laid in Egmont National Park in a bid to save kiwi from becoming extinct in the area.

Only 30 to 50 pairs of North Island brown kiwi remain in the park, their population ravaged by the vermin. Five years ago there were 100 pairs.

Department of Conservation officer Dean Caskey, of Stratford, said 350 traps would be set around key kiwi habitat.

"We're targeting the kiwi habitat from alpine scrub down to 600m where about 10 pairs are," Mr Caskey said.

"It's a really good start because when the chicks hatch in December they'll have every chance of surviving," he said.

The news that only 30 to 50 pairs of kiwi were left in the park was not all bad because it meant the population could be saved, he said.

Mr Caskey said that during the next few months the 350 traps would be dispersed over the eastern and northern slopes of the mountain.

The department's aim was to try to double that number of traps.

- NZPA