Rat Plague Erupts on Stewart Island – What Do They Eat?

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Rats are fast breeders. Mess with their population balance, give them a suitable environment – with abundant food and low predator numbers - and they will thrive, and often in plague proportions. This phenomenon often follows pest control operations undertaken in New Zealand forests. Research investigating rat populations demonstrates this event, over and over again, as is referenced in this video clip https://youtu.be/ZMvdXlFSbRY

The Department of Conservation has been undertaking poisoning operations on Stewart Island. Bags containing 1080 poison are stapled to trees targeting rats, possums, cats, and in some cases, white-tailed deer. Native species are also killed by consuming any bait that remains spilled on the ground, or by consuming poisoned animals and insects.

Selected blocks of forest are closed to hunters and forest users while the poison bait is distributed by staff or contractors. When rats, possums and cats are poisoned, they leave the forest in a prime state for rapid rat repopulation and reinvasion. Food is abundant due to reduced browsing competition, and a lower number of predators means rats can breed, unhindered. This is exactly what is currently happening on parts of Stewart Island. The following video footage shows how the rats behave, what they feed on, and the impact local politics has on the resident community https://youtu.be/9J66vGkfmt4

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