This ship rat is with her young in a nest on the Otago Peninsula. Ship rats are found on the three main islands of New Zealand and on the Chatham Islands. They are implicated in the decline or extinction of many New Zealand land birds, and have decimated the populations of insects such as large weevils and giant wētā. Ship rats are highly fertile – one pair can produce a population of 3,000 in a year.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Department of Conservation
Reference:
10033136
Photograph by Rod Morris
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