Hi all,
Further to my earlier email have a look at this website from Macquarie Island:
Mention is made on the site of the King Penguins at Lusitania Bay. Up until about 1919 the birds were predated by men and fed into boilers (technically known as “digesters”) to be rendered into oil. This was done because the majority of seals on the island had been killed and fat-bearing animals were needed to feed the rendering pots. If you go to the 19th of August weekly newsletter at this site there is a picture of a digester. The fat, 80cm tall penguin chicks were hearded up ramps to the top of the digester and then clubbed and pushed into boiling water. Lovely stuff. When Sir Douglas Mawson visited the island in 1931 he estimated there were only 4,000 King Penguins left at Lusitania Bay. Numbers of seals and penguins have re-built once the predator was removed from the island. I expect that the same will be true now that the rats, mice and cats have been removed.
Yes, the deaths of 2000 birds by poison bait is not pleasant to think about, but look at the alternative – the deaths of many thousands of birds by cat, rat and mouse predation. I also think that the rare and endangered mega herbs being eaten by rabbits and the landslides caused by the denudation of the cliffs is just as big a problem and well worth stopping. My thanks go to all those who have persevered with the pest eradication and made this big step toward restoring Macquarie Island.
cheers
Jenny ===============================
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