Eat or be Eaten (Easy version)

Introduced stoats hunt many native birds

Have you ever watched your cat hunt a mouse or a bird? Have you watched lions and tigers hunt zebras on TV? Lots of animals eat other animals to get energy. This is called predation.

Many predators are big animals, because they can kill smaller animals. But very small animals can be predators too. Think of spiders that eat insects.

When humans came to New Zealand, they brought a lot of predators with them. We brought cats, dogs, ferrets, stoats, weasels, possums, wasps and pigs.

Some of these predators like to eat native birds, lizards, frogs and invertebrates. Many of these native animals are now in danger of becoming extinct. This means they would disappear forever.

Some species are already extinct because of predation. But we can still save other species. People protect native birds by killing stoats, cats, rats and possums.

What animals eat tui?

Possums are predators of bird eggs

The tui's most dangerous enemies are animals brought here by humans. Animals like stoats and cats think tui are very tasty.

It is easiest for predators to catch young tui chicks. The chicks can't fly away to escape. Sometimes cats and stoats try to kill adult birds when they are sitting on their nests.

Rats and possums love to eat tui eggs. A mother tui must be careful when she leaves her nest. Egg robbers could visit while she is away.