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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19375, 13 July 1937, Page 4

A swan with a blue ring on its leg was shot recently on the Wairarapa Lake. A good deal of interest and speculation has been aroused among sportsmen, as no swans have been so marked by the Wellington Acclimatisation Society. It is believed that some time ago a number of swans were marked on Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, for the purpose of studying their movements; and in that case it is possible the bird is one which has migrated from the South Island. Another possibility is that it was reared in domesticity, and afterward reverted to the wild. Apparently rats of extraordinary size are reared on Sunday Island. In a letter from a marine on H.M.S. Achilles, which is at present on a Pacific cruise, it is stated a visit was made to the island, and one of the inhabitants came on board. The marine says the place is infested with cats and rats— and the rats have the upper hand. He asserts the rats are of such size and ferocity the cats are actually afraid of them. One of the men was sleeping peacefully one night when he woke with a start to find a rat gnawing contentedly at his big toe.