NATURE—AND MAN

Grey River Argus, 9 May 1935, Page 3

NATURE—AND MAN

VERMIN IN SANCTUARIES. NEED OF VIGOROUS CAMPAIGN. (Edited by Leo Fanning) Well-known observers of New Zealand’s native birds declare that their worst enemy is the rat. These pests, which multiply on an appalling scale, are numerous in some of the sanctuaries. In the West Coast Sounds district—the sanctuary known as the Fiordlands National Park—Andreas Reischek saw hordes of rats half a century ago. Would not there be more of the destructive rodents there now? “At Chalky Sound,” he wrote, ‘‘l had continual opportunities of observing the ravages of the brown rat, one of the great plagues of New Zealand. “New Zealand, especially towards the sea, now swarms with these animals, introduced originally from European ships. They are a pest in the North Island, hut round the Sounds of the West Coast, I found them more numerous still. I shot rats of all col- ■ ours, yellow-brown, speckled, silver ' grey, brown, grey, and black. At a height of nearly 4000 feet in Dusky Sound I found numbers of them, and in winter, when the mountains were covered with snow. I came across their their tracks repeatedly. “I regularly poisoned as many as I could. At night they kept me awake with their noise, knocking things down from the walls, gnawing at my stores, and digging holes round the hut. They dug up the potatoes in the garden and dragged them away. On one occasion I hung up poisoned bird-skins, but sure enough the rats climbed on the beams and gnawed them to bits. Skeletons also, which [ had strung on a wire nearly 12 feet above ground, were not exempt from their attacks. After several fruitless attempts they gave up shaking the. wires, and winding their tails round it, slid down upon their booty. “The tussock country near the Three Brothers swarmed with them, and they used to gnaw our boots before our eyes. While we were eating our supper by the fire, they would come along behind us and gnaw the bones we had thrown aside for Caesar (a dog). “Nevertheless, we got our fun out of them. Rimmer (my companion), was such a sound sleeper that he did not even wake on one occasion when T fired off my gun at them. Once, however, he could not help sitting up and taking notice. He found a mob of them sitting round his head, gnawing his hair and beard, and shot out of bed as though a tarantula had stung him, got a stick and slew as many of his tormentors as he could.

“These rats are the great enemies of birds, and any bird living or breeding near the ground has but a small chance of existing. They play havoc alike with eggs and young and even attack the parent birds. “Between Landing Bay and Northport I found a great birch tree quite undermined with rat holes. The bark had been gnawed away up to 50 inches above ground level. All vegetation was dead on the tree, and the stink of excreta was strong. It took five months of shooting, poisoning and trapping before they showed signs of decreasing around camp. I remember especially one pair of wily brutes I could never get; they were far too cunning for me.” A HUMANE COLLECTOR. One of the most humane collectors of birds in New Zealand was Andreas Reischek. “Throughout my bird observations,” he wrote in his book, “Yesterdays in Maoriland”, “I always stuck to the principle of never shooting a bird in the neighbourhood of camp. In this way the animals became trustful, and observation was much easier. I was able, while in Chalky Sound, to watch the delightful white-throat, which jealously ami obstinately guards its own piece of territory against all coiners. “I fed one pair daily, and after a few days they readily came into my hut and took food from my hand. They were both so tame that they used to accompany me on my little walks, and while I was digging kiwi or kakapo out of their holes, they would sit by me and pick out the larvae from the loosened earth. Later on they brought their young with them, feeding them with the food I gave them. In the early dawn the old birds would enter the hut, perching on the posts of my bunk, and the male bird would begin to sing. If I didn’t wake at once, they hopped down on my head, and began tugging at my hair or beard.. When breakfast (generally porridge) was ready, they used to come and eat off my plate. I could catch hold of them, and they showed no sign of fear. When wc struck camp, it went to my heart to see them sitting lonely and miserable on the bare table.” Alas—plenty of other collectors, not excepting the famous Sir Walter Bui-i ler—have not had such a sparing hand i as Reischek had. Eagerness to possess has usually prevailed against any impulse of kindness. OIL-PERIL OF SEA BIRDS. “The Black Death—Torture to SeaBirds” is the title of a soul-stirring booklet edited by Miss Mona. Gordon. It is mainly an appeal to the masters of oil-burning vessels to take every possible precaution against pollution of coastal waters. Here is one passage which should command the active support of all readers: “Even if one is not a lover of birds —and from personal observations and a wide experience of sea voyages I have found sea captains almost invariably men of culture and wide human itarian outlook —there is another though lesser point to be considered —the pollution of fishing grounds. These it might be agreed are already protected by the 'limit imposed by law, but this is not so, for the feeding grounds of fish lie many miles from the coast.

“Many bird lovers and societies are interesting themselves in this very urgent problem, and until stricter legislation is enforced internationally, as it must be before all the bird world of the high seas is sacrificed to a horrible death, it is urged upon you, each individual captain of an oil-burner to exercise strict care over polluting with oil discharge the once pure seaways which are rendered snares of treachery to the winged denizens -of the ocean. “Endeavour by every means in your power to protect and keep oil-free those waters frequented by the “birddroves of God,” that the fearful sufferings of oil-smeared birds be not upon your consciences, for bv the exercise of care you may do much to prevent them.”