New Zealand Mammals
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DSC_3176 European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) male eating quail eggs on riverbank. This seemingly innocuous introduced 'insectivore' poses the greatest predation risk to native species in places like the Mackenzie Basin where more than 50% of all nests of ground-nesting birds - stilts, dotterels, black-billed gulls, black-fronted terns and pipits - are being lost to hedgehog predation. In addition, they target native reptiles such as skinks and invertebrates such as beetles, grasshoppers and weta. Shotover River, Queenstown *
DSC3176HedgehogMaleforagingquailnesteggsgroundnestingbirdsNew ZealandmammalsErinaceuseuropaeusferalpestmammalianmammalintroducedpredator