Native plants and takahe more important than tahr and wapiti

Forest and Bird, Volume 17, Issue 1, 1 February 1986, Page 27

Native plants and takahe more important than tahr and wapiti

Forest and Bird and the Deerstalkers Association have clashed over two introduced animal issues recently. One concerns wapiti and takahe, the other the future of the tahr, a Himalayan mountain goat. Early next year the Southland National Parks and Reserves Board are due to consider a proposal to re-establish the rare takahe in Fiordland’s Stuart Mountains. At present this spectacular flightless rail is found in the Murchison mountains where it was ‘‘rediscovered" by Dr Geoffrey Orbell in 1948. Because numbers there are so low, Wildlife Service staff have been rearing birds in captivity with a view to establishing a second population in the wild — a move strenuously opposed by the deerstalkers who are worried that wapiti will have to be removed. The introduced wapiti competes with the takahe for the nutritious tussocks which form the bird’s staple food. Our Society gives its full support to the takahe liberations. Not only will it enable Wildlife Service to expand the takahe population but it will be insurance against the possibility that disease could wipe out the Murchison population. Although the Fiordland wapiti herd is the only wild herd in the country, the wapiti or elk is widespread in North America and increasing numbers of these large animals are being bred by deer farmers up and down New Zealand. It is sad reflection on the priori-

ties of some people that they should place a common introduced animal before the unique takahe whose numbers have dwindled to perhaps 200 birds. New Zealand has far too many endangered birds already and should do everything possible to rescue takahe from the brink of extinction. Himalayan tahr are capable of inflicting enormous damage on the high country (see Forest and Bird May 1984). The Forest Service is proposing to create a tahr management area between Arthurs Pass and Mt Cook National Parks, in which tahr herds will be built up for shooters’ pleasure. Canterbury University botanist Colin Burrows describes no fewer than 17 special alpine plants whose survival or distribution is severely threatened by tahr browsing. Tahr in the high country are an ecological disaster, along with any other grazing animals. This fact has been recognised by the Government — it has started to take sheep off severely eroded land, yet on the other hand it is proposing to build tahr numbers up. At present tahr numbers are down to between 1000 and 2000 animals, and there is a very real possibility that they could be eradicated. In order to placate hunters, tahr numbers could be built up on much less important land — and some high country runholders are either doing so or propose to. Forest and Bird opposes the tahr breeding area because:e Alternative areas to "‘save the tahr for shooters’ have not even been considered. @ The area proposed for tahr management is of major ecological value containing a ‘number of rare plants and unusual native plant and animal distributions even revealed by the few scientific surveys of the area to date. e The area zoned for tahr management is largely a wilderness area and the proposal runs contrary to the operative management plan for this Crown land. e The retention and development of a tahr herd in the central Southern Alps is likely to be extremely costly for the taxpayer. Please write to the Minister of Forests, expressing your opposition to the tahr management scheme.