Doc scales up Ulva rat hunt

A second rat incursion on predator-free Ulva Island this year has highlighted the value of the island’s strong biosecurity surveillance, the Department of Conservation says.

Doc staff on Stewart Island have scaled up an incursion response following at least two further rat detections on the island, after two months of no detections.

Doc operations manager Jennifer Ross said in a statement thanks to the earlier investment in the island’s biosecurity and trapping network, the rats were able to be detected quickly.

In January, a dead rat was found in one of the island’s traps, sparking an incursion response. Increased surveillance over the next two months, including thorough searches by a pest detection dog, did not find any further signs of rats, and the response was wound down in early March.

A second rat was detected by an AI-equipped camera on March 13.

Once the report was confirmed, the team were able to respond quickly.

Since then, two rats have been trapped.

‘‘This shows our biosecurity network is working exactly as intended,’’ Ms Ross said.