When Giant Birds Abounded
It is one of the peculiarities of New Zealand that these islands possessed almost no land mammals before the arrival of Captain Cook. In primeval times woods and mountains swarmed with many kinds of giant birds We find only three representatives of the mammals in the country, and if we follow the Maori legend two of these three were brought here from the lengendary home of the Maori, “Hawaiki.” The only original New Zealan . mammal is -• little bat, called pekapeka by the Maoris. The two others are the Maori dog and the Maori rat (mus Maori). The dog. a great robber, is now extinct; it was rather like the Australian dingo. Its flesh and skin were highly prized by the Maoris The Maori rat, once found everywhere, is nearly, if not quite, extinct. . The Maoris regarded it as a great delicacy, because it is rich in fat— J.S. (Wellington).
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Bibliographic details
Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 190, 8 May 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)
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153When Giant Birds Abounded Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 190, 8 May 1937, Page 3 (Supplement)
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