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Kōrero: Introduced animal pests

Rat attacking a nest

Image
Rat attacking a nest

It had long been suspected that ship rats raided nests and took eggs, but it was harrowing to see David Mudge’s photographs, taken in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which showed the rats eating live fantail chicks. Adult fantails staying at the nest to protect their chicks also ran the risk of being eaten.

Photograph courtesy of the Department of Conservation.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Nga Manu Images

by David Mudge

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Bob Brockie, Introduced animal pests – Rats and mice, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/10122/rat-attacking-a-nest (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Bob Brockie, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009, updated 1 July 2015.