Island's Invasive "Killing Machine" Finally Captured

 

Photo: Impy Malting

The tiny island of Kapiti, located five miles off the coast of Wellington, New Zealand, is one of the last refuges for a menagerie of wildlife driven to near-extinction elsewhere by invasive species. Since the late 1980s, when all non-native animals were meticulously cleared from the island, it has been designated as a sanctuary, an important safe-haven for a host of birds species unaccustomed to predatory mammals. Late last year, however, a single stoat was spotted on the pristine island -- prompting a aggressive, three month long search for the rogue "killing machine."

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