FOREST ANIMALS

Hokitika Guardian, 31 December 1931, Page 6

FOREST ANIMALS

RESEARCH WORK DIFFICULTY. WAR ON DESTROYERS. WELLINGTON, December 29. The great damage done annually to New Zealand’s forests by animals is one of the most serious problems being handled by the- State Forest Service. The report of the Department covering the year ended March 3Lst last illustrates the close connexion between animal life and the problems of forest ecology, or the study of living organisms and their habits. “The year has been marked by a distinct advance in the study j and to a certain extent in the solution, of the numerous ecological problems confronting the service,” the report says. ‘ Up to che present, in dealing with ecology, it has been the habit to treat merely of the combinations of plants which form portions of the forest. A moment’s thought will show tout this view of ecology—for forestry purposes, at any rate —is far too limited, and that, in addition to the plants, the animals associated therewith must be considered, especially those browsing and grazing animals of large size which now abound in nearly all forests from tlie East Cape to Stewart Island.

‘Viewed in connexion with this statements, the outstanding feature of the past year’s work has been the destruction of some 64,000 animals in State forests. These include, wild cattle, wild horses, deer, chamois, wild pigs, goats, rabbits, hares, and rats, as mentioned eleswhere in this report. When it is considered that this figure excludes the activities of other Departments of State, excludes all private efforts, and is the result, in the main, of a six months’ campaign only, it can surely no longer be denied that our forest population ot alien forest destroyers is so large ‘as to exert a most profound ecological in-' fluence on the vegetation of the country, and that this influence must be, in all its aspects, detrimental to the realisation of the ainxiiiiiim forest pro-

duction. • “The fact that action on such a large scale has been made possible has afforded much gratification; but the point cannot be too strongly made that the campaign has just begun, and that any slackening of effort will lose 'the ground already won. This campaign has been the only step taken to apply generally and on a large scale the results of ecological investigations.”