Time has run out for rats on an island wildlife reserve but a group saved from poisoning could end up as a cloak if they can't find a new home.
The first phase of the Department of Conservation's $700,000 campaign to wipe out kiore, or Polynesian rats,on Little Barrier Island was completed yesterday.
Three helicopters swept over the 3083ha rugged island, dumping around half the 55 tonnes of poison pellets to kill the rats.
"We're confident that with ... the detailed planning that has gone into this operation, it will become a major success story for conservation in New Zealand," said DoC Auckland boss Rob McCallum.
Eradication of kiore on Little Barrier stalled for more than a decade after local iwi Ngati Wai argued the rats were taonga, or treasure.
DoC finally got the green light for eradication this year and Ngati Wai saved 179 kiore, which are being kept in captivity in Northland.
Ngati Wai Trust Board manager Addie Smith said the plan had been to remove 300 but that couldn't be done before the deadline. That number could have been made into a cloak, she said.
"Whether one could be done in miniature we're not sure," she said.
Little Barrier Island, or Hauturu, plays a key role in this country's conservation effort. Lying at the entrance to the Hauraki Gulf, it is sanctuary to kiwi, kakapo, giant weta and rare gecko.
It is home to the endangered Cook's petrel and tuatara but the young and eggs of both are preyed on by rats. Around a hundred tuatara are being kept in captivity on the island until the rats are gone.
The final phase of the aerial operation will go ahead in the next week or so depending on the weather.
The kiore
* The Pacific rat or kiore (Rattus exulans), introduced by early Maori, is found only in Fiordland, Stewart Island and offshore islands.
* It eats birds' eggs and chicks, insects and lizards.
