MOOSE AND WAPITI

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19365, 23 July 1925, Page 10

MOOSE AND WAPITI

HERDS IN FIORD COUNTRY. BOTH WELL ESTABLISHED. PESTS ATTACKING THE BIRDS. To the tourist who is able to spend a few days in the recesses of tho Fiord Country, the unrivalled magnificence and variety of the scenery make an irresistible appeal, and in most cases the visitor leaves it with a lingering regret that he is not able to extend his holiday to study the ever-changing panorama afforded by Nature in the majestic, ice-clad peaks, verdant valleys, crystal waters, and the sunlight which shimmers through the green leaves of the trees into the cool recesses of the forest (says the Southland Times).

In some quarters it is thought that the moose, since their liberation, have gradually died out. but such an opinion is not shared by Air Leslie Murrell, who, in response to questions, stated that the evidence which he had seen in the course of*his journeys through the bush convinced him that the herd was undoubtedly well established, and. while increasing in numbers, was not spread over a large area of ground. I The Himalayan deer, which were released at the same time as the moose, were also well established, judging by indications, but he had not actually seen them, the smallness of the animal in the dense bush making it almost an impossiblity for even a person experienced in bushcraft to detect it. Continuing. Air Afurrell stated that the expeditions which had set out during the past season in search of wapiti had had a certain amount of luck, though the weather conditions which had been prevailing had, to a certain extent, curtained the time available in which to stalk them. Several line heads had been taken out last season, and one of them had possessed several . outstanding features, demonstrating the fact that the New Zealand animals i were quite equal to the best Canadian i ones. DIFFICULT TO ESTIMATE. Tt was his opinion that wapiti herds I were now distributed over a very wide area, making it somewhat difficult to give an estimate of the exact number. On one occasion when going through the bush he had come across signs which proved conclusively that the height of the antlers on a wapiti were easily 10ft., as he had taken measurements to verify the statement. Another interesting fact was that there appeared to be a large number of female animals about, and out of six which ho had seen this season only one of them had a young one at foot. It was just possible, however, that the young ones of the other five had previously left their mothers.

Continuing, Mr Murrell stated that the suggestions made so often for the country to be opened up for the benefit of the stalkers were at last being taken up in a very business-like manner by the authorities. As far as the seaward side of the stalking country was concerned, ample facilities were already provided there to permit of transit between the different points where the main and the base camps could be established. While the stalking season had been hampered more or less by a succession of wet days, Mr Afurrell stated that the tourist traffic earlier in the year had been up to expectations, and the track from Manapouri to Doubtful •Sound had been traversed by a fair number of tourists, who had been enamoured with the many beautiful sights to be seen in the course of the 11-mile walk to the Sound. A hut was in the course of erection at the six-mile peg for the benefit of any who wished to stay overnight on the track. At the present time a good deal of work had to be carried out in repairing the track, which, along with the country generally. had suffered severely as the result of the heavy snowstorm experienced there in April last, when quite 25 per cent, of the bush was destroyed by reason of the weight’ of the snow on the trees. Landslides had also been fairly numerous. BIRD LIFE. Referring to the bird life in the Fiords, Air Afurrell stated that stoats and weasels were fairly numerous, and were destroying many of the birds, while many of the diseases introduced by imported birds were having some effect on the native ones, which were not possessed of the ability to ward off these diseases. The native thrush, for example, was practically extinct, while the grebe and the dabchick were becoming scarce in spite of the protection placed upon them by the authorities. Kakas were also fairly scarce. Pigeons were numerous, while the kiwis appeared to be holding their own with the pests, though they were not so numerous as twenty years ago. Occasionally the blue crane was seen, and all kinds of ducks, with the exception of spoonbills, were in evidence.