Bodies of four weasels found inside Zealandia eco-sanctuary
Photo:
123rf
Four unwanted visitors have weaselled their way into Wellington eco-sanctuary Zealandia in the past week.
The first dead weasel was found on Saturday afternoon, when a member of the public alerted the team to a fresh body in a DOC200 trap within the fence.
Rangers cleared and reset the trap, and another weasel was found in the same trap the next day. A third weasel was discovered in another trap on Monday, and a fourth on Tuesday.
These traps had been set after a tree fell onto the fence in May, and it was possible the weasels had got in during the storm, with these animals able to get through tiny holes only a thumb-width in diameter.
General manager for conservation and restoration Jo Ledington said: "We don't know exactly how these weasels entered the valley but as they have not shown up on any of the detection devices deployed for the fence damage, the bodies were fresh and the traps had recently been checked and rebaited, we don't think they have been inside the fence for long."
She said there was a "complex and layered biosecurity system in place, including motion-activated cameras, tracking tunnels, detection dogs, and a comprehensive trapping network".
There was no evidence these weasels had killed any of the sanctuary's wildlife.
"This is exactly what our conservation team is trained for. We're prepared for events like this, and our systems are doing their job. We will be continuing with our response until we are confident there are no further weasels in the sanctuary."
Before this, the last time a weasel was found dead in a trap was August 2024, and before that was October 2023, and then back as far as 2019.
Staff had since re-checked the fence to make sure it was secure, rebaited set traps to ensure the bait was fresh and attractive, and were regularly checking them.
Work as ongoing to put in more trail cameras, and a mustelid dog was booked to do a search of the sanctuary as part of standard biosecurity measures.
Zealandia was also in the process of
fundraising for a new fence
, with the old one nearing 25 years of age.
But it said responding to events like this was expensive, and it could take months to be totally sure the sanctuary was safe. People could support the work by becoming a member or making a donation to the fence refurbishment project.
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