Maud Island regains predator-free status after mice eradication
Monday, 10 October 2016
An island once 'covered' in mice is once again safe for rare and endangered species to roam free.
Maud Island is a scientific sanctuary in the Marlborough Sounds which was threatened by the discovery of mice in 2013.
However, the last mouse was captured two years ago, which means the island can be officially declared predator-free.
Department of Conservation Maud Island biodiversity ranger Frank Higgott said returning to predator-free status was an important milestone.
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'If it's a pest-free island all the plants and animals have the best chance to be healthy,' he said.
'We consider the biosecurity of the island as the number one priority of our job.
'It's a huge amount of people power and team effort involved in the eradication. The sense of achievement is widely shared.'
The island is closed to the public without a permit and has been an important wildlife sanctuary since the 1970s.
The quarantine process to enter the 320-hectare island had been revised and upgraded, he said.
Higgott shares the role with his partner Sue Caldwell.
Along with their two children, Piripi, 10, and Heeni, 8, the family are the only human inhabitants of Maud Island.
Caldwell said the island was 'covered' by mice, which posed a particular threat to insect and lizard species with the potential to prey on the endemic Maud Island Frog.
Conservation officers waited until winter 2014 to launch their offensive to capitalise on the smaller food supply available to the mice.
Baits laced with brodifacoum were set while two helicopter drops 'sowed' the island with rodent poison from above.
'Two to three hundred thousand' trapping device nights were monitored over the last two years, Caldwell said.
The last mouse was captured on September 23, 2014.
Higgott said the health of the island's animals and insects seemed to be unaffected by the incursion of mice.
Precautionary measures had been taken to protect the most at-risk species.
An additional population of the Maud Island Frog was established on another pest-free island.
Meanwhile a number of striped gecko were held in safe-keeping until it was considered safe to release them.
Higgott said it would be imperative to protect the island from further predatory invasions.
'Even now, the work doesn't stop,' he said.
'A big part of our responsibility is to keep it pest-free and be prepared for any possible incursions.
'We've got to keep it up and be on alert for things that look out of place.'
The rangers continue to maintain an estimated 350 devices each night, including baited traps, track tunnels and chew cards.
Higgott said it remained unknown how mice found their way on to the island.
'All the ways you can imagine are possibilities,' he said.
'The mice could have come with visitors, on a boat, with a kayak, they could have been planted, aliens might have dropped them off, you just never know.'
The Department of Conservation guides four public visits to Maud Island annually during summer.