Jack joins hunt for the killer cat

Jack and Scott Theobald try to save the fairy tern. Picture / Northern Advocate

The fate of perhaps New Zealand's rarest bird may rest with one man and his dog.

A wild ginger cat is killing off the fairy tern population at Mangawhai in Northland.

With only about 35 fairy terns in existence - all in Northland - the cat has already killed two birds and eaten three eggs.

It has become a frustrating problem for the Department of Conservation (DoC), which has been tracking the cat for two years.

The cat is believed to have escaped from a trap about 12 months ago and is now trap and bait shy.

The department has put its faith in Scott Theobald, a 45-year-old Kaipara-raised Northland man. An avid pig hunter, he also trains four dogs to hunt a specific animal type each - either cats, rodents or the stoat, ferret and weasel family. A DoC natural predator dog ranger, Mr Theobald's "cat dog" is called Jack, a pure-bred border terrier who has been by his side for seven years.

Mr Theobald and Jack are on a wild ginger cat-killing mission, and every ounce of their skill is needed to help save the fairy tern.

"If we don't catch this cat the fairy tern's very existence could be under threat," Mr Theobald said.

The cat had killed one adult fairy tern, one baby and eaten three eggs at Mangawhai in the last 12 months, putting DoC's $70,000 a year recovery programme at risk.

DoC has succeeded in arresting a decline in numbers over the past 18 years, with eight breeding pairs now in four Northland locations - Waipu, Mangawhai, Pakiri and the Papakanui Spit, south of Kaipara Harbour.

The ginger cat has eluded the clutches of Jack and Mr Theobald over the past two years, so they have changed tack. "We were trying to catch him during the fairy tern nesting period in early summer but we're having trouble picking up the scent which doesn't hold in the ground in the heat of summer," Mr Theobald said.

"We are going to give the cat a rest for a few months and let him drop his guard before putting in a concerted effort this winter."

Jack's mission was to find the cat. Mr Theobald's was to kill it.

However, the DoC-issued traps he used posed challenges, he said.

"We are obligated to use rubber jawed traps with softer springs and jaws for animal ethics reasons," and animals sometimes escaped.

"You wouldn't believe how frustrating it is. You are trying to catch the last animal that is doing all this damage to the wildlife and you can only use substandard methods."

- NZPA