The stoat was earlier spotted on monitoring cameras. Photo: Supplied / Predator Free Wellington
A male stoat that has been evading capture on Wellington's predator-free Miramar Peninsula since December has finally been caught.
On Sunday, volunteers from Predator Free Miramar found the stoat dead in its northern-most trap, at the top of the peninsula's ridge.
Predator Free Miramar founder Dan Henry is "absolutely delighted" with the capture after the chase of the last six months.
"Absolutely rapt for everyone that's been working hard to catch this little guy."
The most recent sighting of the stoat was just two-and-a-half weeks ago when a cyclist heading to work in the early morning spotted it under a headlamp.
"We've just been doggedly doing the mahi, rebaiting traps and trying to outsmart this little furry critter."
Volunteers found the stoat in the last of the traps they were checking on Sunday morning.
Rats had been eliminated at the end of last year but being predator free was a temporary state, he said, as people may unwittingly bring in rats in a trailer or caravan. Stoats were the number one enemy of New Zealand birds and other wildlife such as geckos and skinks.
In May, Project director James Willcocks said re-invasion was a constant threat, but its biosecurity systems were working exactly as planned.
"The monitoring cameras provide us with good intelligence," he said.
"We are able to determine from the photos that it is a male stoat, which is good news, as it means we are dealing with a solitary animal which means there's no risk of breeding."
Willcocks said the skill set to catch a solitary animal was very different to general pest suppression.
"A lot of it comes down to mindset and strategy.
"As a world-first multi-species elimination project, we are wanting to ensure we are learning every step of the way and building approaches that can be replicated.
"Our response needs to be clever, it also needs to be cost-efficient.
"A big part of this efficiency is our community approach, we are investing in behaviour change and building capability at a community level."
