New Zealand's close shave with the mongoose
New Zealand narrowly avoided a potential ecological disaster with the introduction of mongooses in the 1880s. Although mongooses were considered as a solution to the rabbit plague, they ultimately did not establish themselves in the country. The historical context highlights the dangers of introducing non-native species, as seen with the successful establishment of stoats, which have severely impacted native bird populations.
- ▪Mongooses were introduced to New Zealand in the 1880s but never took off.
- ▪The introduction of stoats to control rabbits led to significant harm to native birdlife.
- ▪Historical debates considered various mammals for pest control, including mongooses, but they ultimately failed to thrive in New Zealand.
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Share Story×Share StoryFacebookTwitterBlueskyRedditEmailLinkedinWhatsappMessengerJust look at the little pest (Photo: Getty) New Zealand’s invasive predator problems are bad enough. But we can at least thank our lucky stars that the mongooses introduced into New Zealand in the 1880s never took off. In 2018, when New Zealand pest-trapping company Goodnature announced it had developed a device to help control the mongoose plague in Hawai’i, the company described the rapacious little carnivores as “stoats on steroids”. That is really saying something. The stoat – tireless, vicious, relentlessly multiplying – is one of nature’s finest predators. They, along with the rest of New Zealand’s rogues’gallery of cats, rats, and possums, have brought our native birds to their feathered little knees.
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