Pest Inquiry 

Intro

In this inquiry, we will be talking about the pest known as stoats. Why are we doing stoats? We are doing stoats because the stoat is an effective predator that preys on a combination of our native species mostly, native birds, native lizards, native frogs, native eggs from native, eels and insects. They are greedy stubborn hunters that kill all of our forests two by standing on the baby plants and breaking branches. 

Biography 

As you can see in the picture, the stoat has a distinct coloured coat on its back described as red to brown or ginger with a white or cream underbelly. It has a long bushy tail with a distinctive black tip. A mature male measures 390 mm from nose to tail tip. This is how to Identify a stoat, these are some of the features you should look for if you decide to start hunting stoats after reading this report or after the presentation.

What do the stoats kill in the bay of plenty and when do they hunt?

Stoats prefer to hunt during the night in the winter and sleep during the day and it’s the reverse in summer, they can cover large distances which made them effective predators. The primary prey of stoats are rodents, birds and their eggs, rabbits, hares, possums and invertebrates (particularly weta).  Lizards, freshwater crayfish, carrion,  hedgehogs and fish are also stuff they hunt that’s a lot of animals they kill that said why were they brought here?

Why were stoats brought to New Zealand?

Stoats are members of the mustelid family; their scientific name is Mustela erminea. Weasels and ferrets are examples of mustelids. The three species were initially brought to New Zealand in 1879 to get rid of rabbits that were ruining the grass for the sheep there. Since their introduction, stoats have had a terrible effect on the distinctive birds of New Zealand.

What are the best ways to get rid of stoats?

What are the best ways to get rid of the debris effects of stoats? For stoats Set traps with fresh meat or eggs if you have any. (Salted meat is preferable in the summer so it does not stink in the heat.) Use eggs instead of meat as bait if you have cats because cats like to eat all of your meaty leftovers. Change the bait in the trap at least once per month. When handling your trap or catch, make sure you are always wearing gloves because they will harm you.

conclusion

In conclusion, We think that stoats have a big impact on New Zealand’s forests and native wildlife. They eat everything in the there path and according to the graph below the number of stoats is increasing every year.

                                                                   Years

Stoats are a problem this is why we have decided to write this report because they are a problem and we need to fix it.