Page 14 - 2008 NZ Subantarctic Islands

to animals closer than 5 meters, no following a retreating animal,

staying quiet, and crouching when animals are near. We were
then reminded that we had two really big personal responsibilities

as privileged visitors: following all DOC rules and obeying our
DOC representative.

Such precautions are logical and necessary given that the primary
emphasis in DOC’s restoration program lies in the program for

eradicating all exotic (alien) species from reserve areas. Some
islands are so different from their neighbors that the same plants

and animals may not have been endemic to them. Therefore,
since the major thrust of the program is restoration, the scientists

do not want species which were not originally on a particular
island to get there again even if the species is native to New

Zealand itself and could thrive on that little piece of land. For
instance, one island we visited hosted no tree ferns despite the
fact that tree ferns are native to New Zealand in many other

places. Care is taken that none take root there today.

Most of the preserves we visited were on islands, but some are
being created on the main two islands as well as Stewart Island.

These are “islands” within islands in the present environment.
Hectares are purchased either privately or by DOC in order to

create a city reserve in order to bring native songbirds and kiwis
back into the municipal areas. Usually these reserves are also
cleared of non-native plants as well so that the birds and insects

can live in pristine conditions. It can be easily imagined how
expensive and difficult these efforts at restoring paradise can be.

With introduced species all around including mammalian
predators, it is very hard to keep the preserves rat and cat free;

but it is even more tricky to keep the introduced Australian
brushtail possum from penetrating the boundaries of the

reserves. Unlike our Virginia opossums that are reputed to be
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