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A survey of the sanctuary was expected to find 100 tīeke (North Island saddleback), however only 30 were found. (File photo) Then, in January, thermal camera imaging suggested there were still stoats in the sanctuary, including the mother. On Thursday, the council’s senior ranger at the sanctuary, Matt Maitland, said three more stoats had been captured, including two males and a female.
Auckland Council/Supplied
Shakespear Regional Park, sitting at the end of the Whangaparāoa peninsula, is New Zealand s most visible and accessible open sanctuary. He believed one more stoat remained at large. The sanctuary’s tīeke (North Island saddleback) population has been “severely impacted” by the stoat outbreak, Maitland said.
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The stoat was spotted by a thermal camera not long after two stoats were trapped in January. A stoat was first detected at Shakespear sanctuary at the end of 2020, prompting the council to enlist the help of the Cacophony Project, a technology collective working towards the elimination of predators threatening birdlife, and its subsidiary 2040, a not-for-profit that develops equipment to monitor bird and predator populations. Matt Maitland, Auckland Council’s senior ranger at the sanctuary, said the stoat later gave birth, with typical stoat litters ranging between two and nine kits.
Department of Conservation/Supplied
Stoats pose a significant risk to threatened native birds and lizards. (File photo)