Trapping Results
The Trust is well served by dedicated contractors who service the traps, rebaiting and recording catches. Scott Candy has looked after all the stoat trap lines since installation except for line 10, which is now serviced by a roster of volunteers. Rat traps are serviced by three contractors: Jorg Altorfer, Ian Preisig and David Wilson.
The number of pests trapped each year has increased as more traps have been installed, as shown in the following tables. The numbers of pests caught is expected to decrease as residents are removed and only individuals encroaching from outside the control area are trapped. This trend does not yet show clearly in the summary results, but detailed records show that most stoats, cats and rats are now caught at the control area boundaries.
Summary of Trapping Results 2003 to 2007:
| Year | Stoat | Cat | Weasel | Ferret | Rat | Hedgehog | Possum | Mice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 47 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| 2004 | 54 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 399 | 28 | 58 | 2 |
| 2005 | 78 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 538 | 29 | 41 | 0 |
| 2006 | 148 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 2189 | 121 | 368 | 120 |
| 2007 | 177 | 23 | 10 | 0 | 1369 | 77 | 83 | 0 |
| Total | 504 | 86 | 26 | 2 | 4539 | 260 | 558 | 122 |
Notes:
1. High possum numbers in 2006 were due to a one-off poisoning operation in conjunction with stoat trapping.
2. Mice can be very difficult to identify after a couple of weeks in a trap. It is probable that some were caught during 2007.
Monthly Trapping Results 2008:
| Month | Stoat | Cat | Weasel | Ferret | Rat | Hedgehog | Possum | Mice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 112 | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| February | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 206 | 14 | 10 | 0 |
| March | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 246 | 11 | 3 | 8 |
| April | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 347 | 9 | 32 | 3 |
| May | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 206 | 5 | 160 | 25 |
| June | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 333 | 13 | 64 | 16 |
| July | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 0 | 25 | 16 |