Native bird killer seen in city

The predator regarded as public enemy number one for its impact on native bird life throughout the country has been reported roaming urban Auckland.

Stoats have been seen near the Auckland Domain duck pond and near Auckland Zoo in Western Springs.

The sightings came as no surprise to the Department of Conservation and the Auckland Regional Council yesterday.

But the news caught Auckland City Council parks staff off guard. They were unaware of their presence so near to city parks.

Jacqui Dyer, the city council manager of premier and neighbourhood parks, said she had not heard of stoats in the city.

"In terms of the parks service, it's not an issue that anybody has as yet brought to our attention.

"You would expect them to be where the birds are. I've checked with the contractors and we haven't had any notification from the public. It hasn't been raised as an issue," she said.

Pt Chevalier resident Lisa Prager, calling herself a bird lover who wanted to restore the native environment in urban areas, said she had been alarmed to see two stoats in the domain at night within the past two weeks and earlier this year one stoat in broad daylight at the back of the zoo.

Asked why she had not called the council, the environmentalist and documentary-maker said: "I'm sick of calling the city council. I call them about the overpruning of street trees, the use of Roundup [weedkiller] in my neighbourhood and sewage overflows from the Meola Creek every time it rains."

Bill Trusewich from the Department of Conservation said stoats had been around for decades.

"As long as there is a food source for them they are going to be around."

They had even been seen on the summit of Rangitoto Island.

Mr Trusewich said stoats were terrible carnivore pests which had a devastating effect on birds, insects and reptiles.

They were not seen frequently because they were sly, secretive and usually nocturnal.

"There are rats everywhere, there are stoats everywhere ... Mustelids are just like possums in the suburban environment.

"For Auckland it is a reality."

Stoats were one reason why fantails had disappeared from the middle of Auckland, he said.

Richard Gribble, a biosecurity programme development officer with the ARC, said the council believed stoats to be widespread in urban Auckland.

How to recognise a stoat

* Of the three species of mustelid - ferrets, stoats and weasels - introduced into New Zealand in the 1870s to combat introduced rabbits, stoats are the middle-sized at up to 40cm long.

* They have a brown back and pale belly. Their tails are bushy with black or dark tips.

* Stoats live anywhere they can find prey - from beaches to the high country.

* Ferrets, which grow up to 56cm long, are more common in open country but stoats are much more common in the forest where their predation of young North Island brown kiwi adds up to about 15,000 birds a year - the most important factor contributing to the decline of mainland kiwi populations.