A stoat may have killed most of the saddleback population in the Orokonui Ecosanctuary but hopefully it has been poisoned, Ecosanctuary general manager Chris Baillie says.
Staff at the Waitati ecosanctuary feared for its saddleback population because they had not heard the ''strong and distinctive'' calls from the birds' usual ''hang out'' areas, she said.
The silence was being blamed on the stoat, which has been on the loose since late June.
''Saddlebacks are quite vulnerable to stoats because they spend a lot of time on the ground ... it's highly likely the stoat was the cause of their demise.''
The long, cold winter could also have contributed to the birds' demise, she said.
About 30 saddlebacks were in the ecosanctuary and the remaining population would be surveyed, she said.
If the population had been decimated, more saddlebacks would not be introduced to the ecosanctuary, she said.
After stoat prints were found in June, juvenile kiwi were evacuated from the ecosanctuary.
Four of the kiwi were returned to the ecosanctuary on August 18 because they were big enough to fight a stoat.
A stoat dog searched for it this week and detected a ''slight scent'' near the perimeter fence.
After the scent was detected, a large male stoat was caught in a trap outside the fence.
It was not known if that stoat had been roaming inside the fence.
Staff believed the scent the dog detected was the male stoat outside the fence and not another of the pests inside the sanctuary.
Staff believed the stoat inside had died after eating some of the poisoned rabbit meat laid in 220 bait stations.
''We are feeling hopeful, we have got it.''
Another stoat dog would ''double-check'' for any scent in the ecosanctuary, she said.
The action
Hunting methods used since stoat detected:
• 130 existing traps set. 12 run-through traps deployed.
• Eight fenn cairn traps deployed.
• Three double-opening cage traps deployed.
• 48 Elliot live traps deployed for seven weeks.
• Four trail cameras are deployed - so far they have detected a kiwi and a stoat. Poisoned rabbit mince was laid in 220 bait stations.
• Baits included live mice, fresh rabbit meat, rabbit jerky, egg, hazelnut spread, stoat bedding, mouse bedding.
SOURCE: OROKONUI ECOSANCTUARY
