If you read that I had killed 300 rats in two years you might have wondered what I did with all those rodent bodies? The next three good reasons for killing rodents all involve native vertebrates: kahu, ruru and tuna. Fortunately, I killed all 300 rats without using poison so I can feed them to other animals without worrying about accumulation of toxic compounds in the food web.
Reason I kill rodents number four:
After photographing the freshly killed rat I put the carcass out on the hillside (white belly upwards) and the local kahu (Australian swamp harrier, Circus approximans) swoop down and grab a tasty snack.
Reason I kill rodents number five
The bodies of mice and small rattus rattus are left out on the top of a wall in the garden and a couple of ruru (morepork, owl, Ninox novaeseelandiae) stop by early in the evening and take the mammal remains. The ruru first came to our window to catch moths and in the spring they still come for the pururi moths which make a great meal for the little bird.
Reason I kill rodents number six
Some of the rats I take photos of and ear clipping from are caught in stoat traps in the green corridor. Near where I live the council have fenced off of strip of land beside the stream and planted native trees. The green corridor makes a great place for walking dogs or stretching your legs. The council have included lots of stoat traps in these reserves which catch any mammal small enough to squeeze into the ‘stoat-sized’ hole. So more rats, mice and hedgehogs are caught than mustelids. A few of the rats I remove from the DOC200 stoat traps I throw into the stream for the eels to eat. The native Longfin eel (tuna, ōrea, Anguilla dieffenbachia) is quite common in the local stream
