New Zealand Avoided Mongoose Introduction

In the 1880s, New Zealand considered introducing mongooses to control the rabbit plague, but ultimately decided against widespread releases. A 2017 paper by University of Waikato’s Dr.

Carolyn King details the debates. Releases occurred in Winton and Kaikōura, New Zealand, due to private citizens importing the animals. These small populations did not survive, unlike in Hawai’i, where introduced mongooses caused six native species to go extinct.

New Zealand already struggled with invasive predators like stoats, rats, and possums. Contemporary scientists warned about the impact mongooses would have on native birds, but these concerns were initially ignored, similar to the warnings about rabbits. One account describes a mongoose on a steamer as a relentless killer of rats, “murder incarnate” tearing through the ship.

While New Zealand has a high number of introduced species, officials eventually sided with botanist Daniel Morris, who deemed mongooses “an unmitigated nuisance” in other colonies. The country continues to grapple with existing invasive species, but avoided one potentially devastating addition.