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Sniffer dog injury hampers stoat hunt
Topic Started: Dec 7 2010, 01:05 AM (103 Views)
Kahu
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A specialist stoat-sniffing dog sent to Kapiti Island has broken its leg in a fall, hampering efforts to track down the predator in the bird sanctuary.
Crete, a border terrier/fox terrier cross, was sent to Kapiti Island to find a stoat spotted by Department of Conservation (DOC) workers more than two weeks ago.
DOC Kapiti area manager Rob Stone said today Crete fell off a bluff on Tuesday.
"The dog will be out of action for quite a while.
"In rugged country the dog got pretty excited," Mr Stone told Radio New Zealand.
Before the accident, the dog had found some droppings that might have come from a stoat.

DOC is trying to find another stoat-detector dog to finish the job.

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awake
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stoat ? Clue us in..
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Kahu
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Stoats are an alien exotic pest in New Zealand ..... New Zealand has no native mammals apart from two species of bats, so birds and insects have evolved to occupy mammalian niches. Exotic species and changing landuses have caused the extinction of many species ....... to counteract that we have off shore island sanctuaries where all mammals such as rats, mice, cats, dogs, stoats, weasels and possums are exterminated to give the natives a chance to reestablish themselves.

Specially trained sniffer dogs with protective muzzles so that they don't accidentally harm fragile kiwi skeletons or other birds, are trained to find pests like stoats.

Kapiti Island is a rugged, steep, (the dog was injured when it fell down a bluff) densely bush covered island about 5 km off shore from the lower North Island ..... ferries and passengers bags are searched before landing to prevent the passage of unwanted species by Department of Conservation Staff. What is frightening is that a stoat managed to learn to swim the 5 km of open water between the island and the mainland.

I think you might understand if you look at the pictures ...... thats a Kaka (a bush parrot) on my shoulder, and you can see how steep the hills are ...... the view is looking towards the South Island, which you can't see.
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Edited by Kahu, Dec 8 2010, 12:43 PM.
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Nice photos, but still don't know what a stoat is...OK just googled STOAT -

They are adorable!! Dp people keep them as pets?

see : http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&expIds=17259,27759,27788,27796,27868,28004&sugexp=leprodsca4&xhr=t&q=stoat&cp=4&wrapid=tljp129176581126106&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=Nsj-TIfLDpO6sAP0nsSvCw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CDwQsAQwAg&biw=1019&bih=785
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Kahu
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Stoats in NZ

More Stoats in NZ

Early environmental disasters ...... rabbits, and hares were brought from Europe as a food source, but quckly became a pest because they ate the grass which was needed for sheep raising. So ........ stoats, weasels and ferrets were imported to cull the numbers of rabbits and hares ....... but, native species of birds were easier to catch and the numbers of the pests exploded ........ and the war of extermination against exotic species continues to this day.
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Kahu
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begete_Justicette
Dec 8 2010, 12:49 PM
They are adorable!! Dp people keep them as pets?
Hell no!
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FuzzyO
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Remember Wind in the Willows? Stoats were the bad guys weren't they?
Edited by FuzzyO, Dec 8 2010, 03:26 PM.
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Kahu
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I think the weasely weasels were I the baddies FuzzyO
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FuzzyO
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I seem to remember they were in cahoots with the stoats. I'll have to read it again and dream of messing about by river and motorcars that go "Poop poop".
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Stoats ARE weasels....but very cute ones - see the URL above wub
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Kahu
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begete_Justicette
Dec 8 2010, 06:03 PM
Stoats ARE weasels....but very cute ones - see the URL above wub
They're a bigger version of weasels ...... similar species, but definitely different.
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FuzzyO
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I've checked, weasels, stoats and ferrets were those to be feared and defeated.
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angora
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WWS Book Club Coordinator
Arent stoats supposed to be kind of ...romantic? I think Ive heard or read the expression, "Randy as a stoat."
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Kahu
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angora
Dec 9 2010, 02:56 AM
Arent stoats supposed to be kind of ...romantic? I think Ive heard or read the expression, "Randy as a stoat."
They certainly seem to have 'gone forth and multiplied'. biggrin 04
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awake
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He looks like my brother in law. But I'm a little mixed up, just what is it bird,man or small animal.
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