Three feral cats in one photo – monitoring shows predators aplenty on Rakiura

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Source: NZ Department of Conservation

Striking remote camera images show introduced predators are abundant on Rakiura/Stewart Island, and they need to be urgently controlled this winter to protect pukunui/southern New Zealand dotterel and other native species.  

The feral cats in this neck of the forest are big and healthy and there’s lots of them. This trail camera captured three in one frame (bottom right corner has the ear of the third)!
The third cat comes into frame more fully. Feral cats pose the greatest threat to the critically endangered pukunui/southern New Zealand dotterel. See more photos below.

The most extensive study of predators on Rakiura

Nearly 300 trail cameras have been set up across approximately 3,000 hectares to monitor the abundance of feral cats, rats and possums before, during and after an upcoming aerial predator control operation. This action is part of the Department of Conservation’s Pukunui Recovery Project.

With only 105 pukunui left, the operation aims to save the native bird from extinction by controlling predators, especially feral cats, across approximately 43,000 hectares. It’s the largest predator control operation ever on Rakiura. It will also be the most extensive study of predators on the island.

Zero Invasive Predators (ZIP) has also established a network of trail cameras to gather data about rats and deer to inform future Predator Free Rakiura operations.

Thousands of images were taken in the first round of monitoring over a two-week period in May this year within the pukunui operational area. As expected, they show high numbers of introduced predators, as well as tokoeka kiwi and white-tailed deer which are also being monitored as species of interest.

Tītī/sooty shearwater were also observed and in one instance you can see a feral cat chasing one of the native sea birds and another shows a dangerously close interaction. See the striking photos below.

The first phase of the pukunui operation is complete, and the second phase is scheduled to run from late July / early August, prior to the pukunui breeding season when the birds head up into the mountains to nest.

How do the cameras work and where are they?

The trail cameras are programmed to take bursts of photos when they sense movement, and a lure is set up in front of each camera to attract animals. The lure usually consists of fresh rabbit meat wrapped in a wire cage along with two terracotta tubes with a rabbit scent inside them. The photos are processed and sorted, with the help of AI, to identify and group photos of individual species and their locations.

The cameras are set up from sea level at Doughboy Bay up and over the tops of the Tin Range where one of the last pukunui breeding grounds is located. There are also trail camera grids outside of the operational area at East Ruggedy and towards Mason Bay beach at Kilbride to serve as comparison sites.

The camera grids will stay in place throughout the year, and images will be processed every three months or so to assess changes in the abundance of target predators and help measure the results of the operation.

Learn more about the Pukukui Recovery Project. Preparing for a new generation of ‘underbirds’ on Rakiura | Conservation blog

Trail camera photo gallery

Take a look at some of the photos from the first round of camera monitoring. DOC will continue to share more images and data as it becomes available.

Rakiura tokoeka kiwi marching home after a long night’s work. They are doing well on Rakiura because there aren’t any stoats. They will be even safer once we get feral cat numbers down and their habitat will improve with less rats and possums around eating forest food and plants.
Possums are abundant and not only do they eat the eggs and young of native birds, but they eat and kill trees like the iconic Southern Rātā. The health of the forest depends on us getting rid of them. 
We were surprised but excited to see a tītī here. There could be a lot more of them on mainland Rakiura if predators are removed.
20 minutes later, a feral cat turns up at the same spot. Like pukunui, juvenile tītī are no match for feral cats. See an example of a cat hunting tītī further down.
An older trail camera photo on Rakiura that shows a feral cat with a pukunui in its mouth taken from a nest.
These are big Norway rats! They are the biggest species of rats, and they eat the eggs of native birds, lizards and invertebrates, as well as seeds which puts them in direct competition with native wildlife. The cameras also picked up ship rats and likely kiore.
Kiwi and white-tailed deer are being monitored as species of interest. Deer are not a target species for the operation.
A tītī from earlier this year observed by one of ZIP’s trail cameras. You can see the tip of a feral cat’s ear at the bottom of the frame.
This next frame reveals that the tītī is being chased by a feral cat. Feral cats are known to prey upon tītī eggs, chicks and adult birds, especially when they are nesting or vulnerable on the ground. 

MIL OSI

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