EXTERMINATION OF NATIVE BIRDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1957, 27 August 1891, Page 15

EXTERMINATION OF NATIVE BIRDS.

The following is the text of the paper read by Mr James Richardson on the above subject at the meeting of the Otago Institute on Tuesday, August 11, 1891 s—

To all New Zealanders the names of the kakapo and kiwi are "familiar as household words," although bat few colonists have had the privilege of observing these remarkable birds in their Alpine forest homes, where until recently they dwelt in comparative safety. For the scientist the ground parrot and apteryx have a ipeoial interest, as .being of their kind unique and peculiar to New Zealand, and tha prospect of their extinction at an early date most be contemplated with general regret. The following notice of the kiwi, from "Knight's Natural History," will serve to impress you with the scientific value of this strange member of the feathered race. At the time the book was published—some 40 years ago— the kakapo was apparently unknown to English ornithologists, as no reference is made to it. Of the kiwi, Mr Knight writes s— "New Zealand presents us with the apteryz, or kiwi-kiwi, so extraordinary and so anomalous in its conformation that the existence of a species possessing such a combination of characters has been denied. The original specimen was brought to England in 1812 by Captain Barclay, of the ship Providence. In 1838 Professor Owen gave a most elaborate account of the anatomy of the kiwi, having received a whole bird preserved in brine (see Proceedings of the Zoological Society 1838.) After detailing its peculiarities, Mr Knight proceeds : " Such is the sum total of our knowledge of the habits of this bird, which seems destined to become at no distant date exterminated from the limited portion of the globe which forms its habitat."

What prompted this prophecy, we have no means of knowing, but unfortunately its realisation is now within measareable distance.

A few years since it would have been deemed impossible that either kakapo, kiwi, or weka, could become rare during the present century, but 30 years ago the same might have been written regarding the native quail, of whioh I have known as many as 30 brace shot by two gtins in one day. Yet to-day the quail is, I believe, absolutely extinct. The fires, wild cats, and hawks, whioh operated to that end, were not more deadly foes than are those which threaten the extermination of the more singular birds whose lamentable fate is the theme of this paper. HABITS OF THE FBEHET, STOAT, AND WEASEL.

A brief account of the habits of the ferret family will help to an agreement that the charges here brought against them are irrefutable. The term " ferret" must be taken to embrace such of the group of British Mustelidis as have been introduced into this country for the purpose of combating the -rabbit pcst — viz, the ferret, stoat, weasel, and crossbred ferret.

" The ferret," writes Mr Knight, " exists in Europe only as a domesticated animal, being used for rabbiting and rat-catching," (I may remark in passing that it has, no doubt, the same appreciation of feathers as have the stoat and weasel, for quite recently I beard of one whioh, when liberated, instantly gave chase to a maori hen whioh happened to be in sight.) "The polecat," proceeds Mr Knight, "measures some 16in in length, and has a tail measuring nearly din. In England in summer it resorts to the woods, and makes sad havoc amongst pheasants, partridges, and hares ; nor are the nests of birds safe from its attacks. Its love of slaughter seems insatiable. In winter one has been known to kill as many as 16 large turkeys in one night, and on another to destroy 10 ducks. The prediliotion of the polecat for the blood and brains of birds is well-known. It seldom touches the rest of the carcase. The weasel has all the ferocity of its race, and will prey upon chickens, pigeons, ducklings, and leverets. It climbs trees with facility, and will even cross water in pursuit of its prey ; nor does swiftness avail, for onwards the weasel will travel until its victim falls from exhaustion. Instances are on record in whioh several weasels have united in attacks on men, who with difficulty prevented the fierce little animals from lacerating their throats. The weasel is very prolific, breeding - two, or three times a year, and having a litter of five at each birth. The stoat is closely allied to the weasel, but is considerably larger. Its habits are precisely those of the weasel. It also hunts by scent, and some idea of its depredations may be conceived from the circumstance of two hares, two young leverets, two young partridges, and a pheasant's egg having been found in the retreat of one." So much for the habits of theae animals. One point in regard to the ferret proper deserves noting. It is, in England, extremely sensitive to cold, and requires to be kept snug and warm, especially in winter, as it perishes if exposed to the severity of tbe eeaaon. Now tbe West Coast forests are mossy and damp, and underlie lofty peaks, which are snowolad in winter, whilst the open land adjoining the lakes is subject to severe frosts. It must not be supposed that I exonerate the true ferret from a share in the work of destruction. Our winters are much milder than those of England, and it is quite possible that in localities where it can make a nest in rabbit holes or under tree roots it has withstood exposure. If those first turned out survived, their progeny would of course speedily become acoUmatised. I think, however, we may conclude that the vermin which are spreading so rapidly in these localities are for the most part stoats, weasels, and the crossbreds between ferret and peleoat. All these are hardy, and breed rapidly ; and being tree-climbers will no doubt turn their attention to other feathered denizens of the bush, when the supply of ground birds is exhausted. I specially noted an animal at Manapouri, which was probably crossbred, being very much larger than a ferret, and having the dark fur and white-tipped lips and ears which BCr Knight cays distinguish the cross between ferret and polecat.

THE WEST COAST.

Everyone is probably so far acquainted with tbe topography of the western and southwestern coasts as to be aware that an almost unbroken tract of bush extends from the Haast river ot the Waiau— which presents an irresistible attraction to the lover of nature who can annually see ire a brief exemption from tbe toil and moil of city lift —a distance of more than 200 miles. In the extensive Alpine region, whioh lies

between tbe Waiau and Haaat, the latter of which marks the scope of the present paper northwards, some 10 or 12 years since kakapos and kiwis were almost as plentiful as many of us can remember the weka, or woodhen, to have been in the open country. I regret being able to-night to furnish evidence that throughout almost the entire length of this vast uninhabited forest the extermination of ground birds by ferrets is proceeding so rapidly that they will shortly be extinot, whilst other birds are already That the marked diminution in numbers is due to causes natural to their surroundings no one, I take it, will be prepared to argue. Undoubtedly it must be attributed to the ill-advised releasing of the ferret in or near localities where rabbits would have proved a blessing rather than a curse, and where scarcely a patch of open country is to be found below the bush level, 3000 ft.

WESTLAND.

Beginning with Westland, we have the following evidence of the havoc made amongst ground birds by ferret, stoat, and weasel. It is comprised in Mr Chief-surveyor Mueller's report to the Surveyor-general of an exploration of the head waters of the Okuru, Actor, and Burke rivers, made last autumn, for a copy of which I am indebted to Mr C. W. Adams.

Mr Mueller says:— "Whilst at this stage of my narrative I may be permitted to digress somewhat and introduce a subject which, although not directly connected with surveys, does still somehow dovetail into this work. I refer to the rabbit ' nuisance,' and the ferret, stoat, and weasel ' blessing.' During tbe past summer months several weasels and ferrets were caught and killed at the Okuru and Wai-a-toto settlements. These creatures were taken close to, and, in some cases, within about one mile from the sea. To the question as to where they came from there could only be one answer: Nobody introduced them into Westland, and hence they must have been the progeny of those imported by the Government, and must have found their way across the dividing range from either Otago or Canterbury, or both. But in the absence of any signs of rabbits about the coast settlements it is difficult to understand what brought these animals over. This mystery was effectually cleared up on my exploration trip. We were prepared to meet with rabbits on the first day's travel inland from the coast, but we were disappointed. It was not until we got near the Actor, about 19 miles back from the sea that we noticed the first traces of rabbits, and it was not until we got to the very bead waters of the Okuru that we saw rabbits in any numbers. " The ferrets and weasels, no doubt, came up the dividing range with the rabbits, bub as soon as they discovered our ground birds— our kakapos, kiwis, woodhens, blue ducks, and such like they followed up the more palatable game. " This is what brought the ferrets and weasels down to the Coast settlements, and the rabbits on tbe West Coast side of the dividing range will henceforth be left undisurbed, and will be allowed to spread as they please. "Pastexperienoes have satisfied me that rabbits will never dp much mischief on the West Coast. Tears ago they were turned out in several parts of Westland— parts most favourable to them — open lands and sandhills, but they all died out. The climate i* evidently too damp for them, and they certainly will never thrive in dense bush country. But, as regards the ferrets and weasels, they will continue to thrive until the extermination of our ground birds, now begun, ia fully accomplished. That lam not prophesying evil without good grounds, I may prove by the following; In all my explorations on the Coast the certainty of getting a good supply of birds made it possible to keep the provision swags which the men had to carry within reasonable weights and dimensions. On this last trip of mine rather more than the usual amount of provisions was taken, but in spite of this precaution the party had to be put on short rations for the last three days — viz., one scone per man per day. "The further inland the more plentiful the birds, used to be the rule, but that is reversed now. At the head of the Okuru and the Burke some nights passed during whioh we never heard the soreech of the kakapo, or the shrill whistle of tbe kiwi, and as for blue ducks we saw only three during the whole time we were out. In former times when camping near the head waters of any of the rivers the fighting of the kakapos amongst themselves, and the constant calls of the other birds around the camp often kept people from sleeping. This has all changed now. In the southern parts of the West Coast absolute stillness reigns at night, and there is nothing now to keep the traveller from sleeping except, perhaps (owing to the absence of birds), an empty stomach." Such was Mr Mueller's experience during explorations extending from the western seaboard to within about 20 miles, as the crow flies, from the

HEAD WATBBS OF THE DABT, concerning which locality Mr Wilmot, district surveyor at the lakes, writes me as follows :— "During six weeks spent lately at the head waters of the Dart (some 25 miles beyond Lake Wakatipu) we saw only three blue ducks, which used to be there in numbers. On the Routeburn the same difference is perceptible." THE HOLLYFOED VALLEY AND DABBAN MOTJN-

The Hollyford Valley, flanked by the Ohvine and Darran Mountains lies about midway between the head of the Dart and Milford Sound, the river having its source behind Mount Christina, not far from the Cleddau. During an expedition to Martin's Bay, in 1872, in which I took part, we found kakapos, kiwis, woodhens, and blue ducks very plentiful throughout the Hollyford Valley, and in 1880 they were only less numerous on the eastern side where the track had been out, and where, consequently, travellers' dogs had considerably thinned them. Still, we easily procured sufficient birds to provision the camp. Concerning the head waters of tbe Hollyford and

THE EGLINTON Mr Wilmot says:— "At the time I was last there— April 1889 (the second exploration of the bead waters of the Eglinton) — I did pot come across a single kakapo or kiwi, though from what I had seen in 1883*84 when travelling through the Hollyford Valley I expected them to be very numerous ; and, indeed, had relied greatly on them for animal food. I do not now remember whether on the last occasion the party got any wekas, bat, if so, only one or two. Blue ducks, which should have been plentiful, were rarely to be had. If it had not been for the rabbits, we should have been hard pushed. On the Eglinton flats the place seemed alive wU.h them. Between two forks of the river the chainman and myself managed to jamb a great number, and, armed only with walking-sticks, slaughtered about 30— being perhaps a quarter of an hour at the business — and for every one we got, two or three escaped. It was iv the Eglinton we saw the ferrets. We saw them in different parts, and came to the conclusion that they must be numerous there."

Mr Wilmot adds that wekas, which used to be very plentiful round Lake Wakatipu, are now very rarely to be met wftb. He was only lately informed on good authority that long after poisoning commenced they were still very

numerous between the Kawarau and Kingston ; but within a year or two of the introduction of the ferret an rl weasel they almost entirely disappeared. To return to the bush. We have travelled over the country lying between the West Coast and Lakes Wakatipu and Wanaka, and reached tbe source of the Eglinton. Following this river down, we come to

LAKE TE ANAU.

All round the western shores and head of Te Anau kakapos, kiwis, and wekas used four years since, to be plentiful everywhere, but from information supplied by Mr M'Kinnon and others it is evident that a few years hence they will have ceased to exist in this district. Already the ferret has made its way up the Waiau, round the foot of Te Anau, and up the western Bide to the south fiord. Not long since one was killed in a woodman's tent in the forest opposite the township of Te Anau. It has also crossed the Eglinton, at the head of the lake, and almost exterminated the kakapo and kiwi as far round as Worseley Creek. It has found its way up the famed Clinton Valley, has orossed the pass to Milford Sound, and been seen in the neighbourhood of the Beech hut. Two-thirds of the borders of Te Anau are now almost destitute of ground birds. Eight miles south of Te Anau lies

LAKE MANAPOUBT. Here in the month of June last we camped in several places where, until recently, kakapos, kiwis, wekae, teal and blue ducks, were very numerous, and where dog and gun nave seldom assisted in the work of destruction, yet we saw neither blue duck nor red teal, only two mobs of black teal, and some three or four pukaki. No screeoh of kakapo woke the night echoes, and only once did we hear a kiwi. This was when camped at Pomona Island, and the bird was somewhere at the base of Cathedral Peaks, a rocky pile rising almost perpendicularly from the lake side, and a long distanoe from the inlet of tbe Waiau where ferrets were released.

At Isthmus Camp, a place whioh ÜBed to be noted for ground game, not a Bound broke the stillness after dark; even the familiar call of the woodben, as the evening shadows fell, would have relieved the sadness which we could not but feel, when, night after night, the oppressive silence made assurance doubly sure that here, far away from the haunts of men, New Zealand's rare* ayes had succumbed to the imported foe, whose introduction — I venture to assert — will soon be deeply regretted even by those who coday are staunch advocates of its utility as an antidote to the rabbit pest.

TAUTUKU.

Although tbe object of this paper is to attract attention to the destruction of our more valuable ground birds, it may not be out of place to briefly note the depredations of the ferret in the extensive forest lying between Port Molyneux and Waikawa, which has lately— through the exertions of Mr Thomas Mackenzie, M.H.R.— been opened up for settlement. Mr Wilmot, who kindly supplied the information regarding the Upper Eglinton, and who is now located at Waikawa, tells me that ferrets have been seen at various points in the great Tautuku bush. They must have travelled through very wet forest, and as they were very fat must have come across good living — not rabbits. He has several times seen heaps of pigeons' feathers on the ground, but whether the birds have been killed by wild oats or vermin he leaves an open question. Mr Wilmot's chainman tells him that five years ago woodhens were so numerous as to be a nuisance. Camped in the same place for three months last year they did not see one. Regarding the relations between ferrets and rabbits Tautuku furnishes the following extraordinary evidence: — One of Mr Strauohon's survey party, a Mr Mackay, told me a few days since that near a camp, about eight miles from Catlins, the chainman, Mr Murphy, and himself one Sunday noticed young ferrets, rabbits, and kittens playing near a warren in the bush, and that on his approach the animals all disappeared into one burrow. How this happy family story will be received by advocates of the " natural enemy " policy I can easily imagine, but it is credibly vouched for. I have placed before you evidence of the presence of the ferret at different points from the Haast River in Westland to Oatlin's River, and of the rapid destruction of the kakapo, kiwi, and other ground birds in the Western forests.

A CHECK ON EXPLOHATION.

Apart from the regret which must be felt by the naturalist, this wholesale massacre of these interesting fauna must seriously interfere with the progress of exploration and prospecting. Iv the past, a party could venture into the untrodden wilds lying at the back of the Sounds, carrying in the way of provisions, nothing beyond salt and oatmeal, tea and sugar, relying upon always securing an ample supply of animal food. In the future the last mentioned essential will also have to be transported, and as each man when roughing it requires at least 21b of meat per diem, a fortnight's excursion will necessitate the carrying of an extra weight which, with other impedimenta, will combine to make up a swag almost impossible of conveyance on foot.

DANGBB TO LIFE.

The increased danger to life will also tend to deter prospectors from continuing investigation of a portion of the province which has already furnished indications of rich mineral deposits. A miner from the Waiau tells me that not long since he and his mate killed two ferrets in their tent one night. At Te Anau a man engaged in wood cutting was attacked by one in bis tent whilst camped near the south fiord, and of its attacks on children we have had more than one example nearer at hand. There can be no doubt that very bhortly it will be dangerous to camp out in many parts of Otago, especially in those which effer the greatest attractions to tourists and prospectors.

Two extracts from interesting contributions to the Country Journal by Mr T. H. Potts, the Jeffreys of New Zealand, will form a fitting conclusion to this paper. Writing some 20 years ago Mr Potts prophetically said: "It would not be a matter of much regret if the present irresponsible system of acclimatisation were stopped before mistaken zeal results in further error. By all means in our power let us preserve our native birds. Let it not be forgotten that within our narrow boundaries are many singular forms of very great interest to naturalists and physiologists the wide world over. We shall justly incur the opprobrium of barbarism if we neglect to use strenuous exertions to avert the fate which seems impending over them." Writing again at a later date Mr Potts remarks: "Biologists have made New Zealand a special study on account of its very peculiar forms of life. It will not redound to our credit if we suffer the indigenous fauna to be exterminated without some efforts for its preservation. " It is offered as a suggestion that considerable areas of land might be set aside and held under tapu as to dog and gun. There is, for instance, Resolution Island amopst the Sounds. It might be proclaimed a public domain where animals should not be molested under any pretence whatever. Some of the islets off the north-east coast of the North Island might be similarly dealt with."

To the localities indicated by Mr Potts may be added the larger islands of Te Anau, Manapouri, and Wakatipu. (Mr M'Kinnon has

already successfully transferred the kakapo to Centre Island, Te Anau). It may be asked, M What can be done to stay the work of destruction, of which such conclusive evidence has been produced to-night ?" In view of the widespread distribution of the ferret tribe, we can only reply "Nothing;" but by promptly adopting the excellent proposal of Mr Potts, we may hope to preserve small colonies of those rarer orderi of New Zealand bird-life, whose regrettable disappearance has formed the subject of this paper.

During the discussion which followed, Mr F. R. Chapman, Mr G. M. Thomson, and Mr B. Melland (of Te Anau Downs) endorsed, from personal observation, the indictment against the ferret tribe made by Mr Kiohardson ; whilst Sir Walter Bullbr expressed an opinion that the Norwegian rat must be held largely responsible for the destruction of ground birds. Mr Richaedson pointed out that although in the North Island the rat might be largely responsible for the disappearance of the birds referred to by Sir Walter, especially such birds as the thrush and crow ; yet, with all due deference to the opinion jast expressed by New Zealand's greatest ornothologist, he thought it could scarcely be blamed for the rapid destruction of ground birds in South-western Otago. In 1872, and again eight years later, in 1880, kakapos and kiwis were very numerous in the Hollyford, yet rats abounded. Round Te Anau, also, whilst rats had existed in numbers ever since the district; was known (1857), ground birds had remained plentiful until after ferrets were introduced. Mr Wilmot's experience showed that in 1884, on the Eglinton, kakapos and kiwis were still plentiful, although rats were there in swarms as far back as 1870 ; but in 1889, four years after ferrets were liberated, the birds had entirely disappeared.