Diet of stoats at Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary, South Westland, New Zealand
The diet of 871 stoats (Mustela erminea) caught within the Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary, South Westland, New Zealand, between 2001 and 2004 was studied by assessment of gut contents. Stoat and ship rat (Rattus rattus) captures were used as a measure of relative abundance over time, and rat and mouse (Mus musculus) abundance was indexed using tracking tunnels between spring 2002 and winter 2004. There were major increases in rat captures in spring of 2002 and again in spring of 2003. Stoat captures peaked in the following summers, as rat captures declined.