STRANGE PETS

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 February 1939, Page 2

STRANGE PETS

TAKAKA WOMAN’S HOBBY By flicking the surface of the, water of the Takaka River at. Kotingu with her finger to produce a series of muffled plops, Miss Margaret. McCallum for 10 years has called a. number of fresh water eels to the shallow water against the bank. There she feeds them from a spoon, strokes them and even takes them from the water, says Thursday's “Dominion." Though at first, the number was not large, to-day Miss McCallum feeds as many as 14 at a time. On Saturday, when for the third time in one day a party of visitors asked to see the unusai display, only about six appear-j ed. They were fed with tapioca, custard and shreds of raw meat, the custard being fed from the spoon, which for safety’s sake is attached to Miss MeCallum’s finger wit ha. loop of siring. The raw meat the eels took .from her fingers. In describing how she came to establish this curious friendship, Miss Mr-Callum’s linger with a loop of also had in a pond at. the hack of her house. ;i number oi,eels which responded in tlie same way. She feeds them only in the summer. When Hie signal is given, only eels down the river -< mo !<> Ilio bank, and il would appt;!!' 'hat (he s-.mnd is not heard ;;- siii- i ih< i'l-iw of the water. f From J-’-ma-y 1 to Friday last. 28! book in which Miss McCallumi invites visitors Io record their namesj shows that more than 100 have watch-, ed lhe feeding. People from Victoria, Tasmania.. Samoa and England are among them.

Wlrnii asked if she did not lire of them continued demos! rations. Miss Mt Callum replied, with a smib-: ' ll' tin- eels can take il. I rail."