Rats and mice
Rats and mice are big predators of native wildlife and the food they eat. Rats not only eat berries and leaves that feed native birds, they also eat eggs, chicks and nesting adult birds. Mice even eat whitebait eggs on riverbanks.
How can you help?
Keeping rat and mouse numbers low is one of the best ways to encourage the return of native birds and wildlife. Rat and mouse traps and various baits are available from shops, garden centres and home supply stores. Having a rat or mouse trap in your garden, especially if you live near native bush, is a great way to help our native plants and wildlife.
When rats and mice eat berries and seeds they are preventing our native plants from reproducing. In years when the forests produce a lot of berries and seeds rat and mice populations often explode because of the abundant food source. The high rat and mice numbers then puts pressure on native wildlife.