Thanks for this valuabe piece of information. I'll definately look closer into this. I've survived a sinking ship, so why not go for the adventure? Wonder what's the best tactic'? Using volunteers with skinny necks (non tasty people), or some high body mass guys who are too big for the birds to take them away. Hmmm? You seem to have first hand knowledge about this secret island Bob, what do you think?
Note my new signature. IslandTim 2008/7/6 Bob W <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: >> >> Tim Øsleby wrote: >> >> >> >>> http://www.diskusjon.no/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=239772 >> >>> (Warning: 300kb) >> >>> >> >>> Comments please > >> Aren't all moments with puffins funny moments? > > I guess you've never heard of the marsupial killer puffins of > Rangararatarahoaroa on New Zealand's little-known West Island. In the > days before human settlement in the islands the marsupial killer > puffin, called by the local people as Owatanastiphuca ('head-snipping > bastard bird') was top predator. Because sand eels are virtually > unknown there the puffin evolved to take the thing which most closely > resembled sand eels - the elongated neck of the giant moa. > > The giant moa, as you know, stood upright at about 1.8 metres or 6' > tall. So when the first human settlers arrived on the island, standing > about the same height as a giant moa, they looked to the puffin like a > might tasty addition to the diet. > > This killer puffin, which was scarcely larger than the friendly > creatures we know from the land of Njal, had evolved a much larger > beak, whose colours blended with the local flora, and an incredibly > strong neck. So the bird would hide in the trees of West Island and > swoop down on the unwary humans, snip their head off, and take the > torso back to the nest. Imagine the sight of a puffin's beak > containing a line of floppy headless humans instead of sand eels! > > Eventually the people abandoned their attempts to settle > Rangararatarahoaroa, and it has always been left to the marsupial > killer puffins. So dangerous are they that West Island is not allowed > to be featured on maps of New Zealand, but those of us who've > travelled in the area have stumbled across it, about 20 leagues to the > east of South Island (it's official name is a cunning bluff to throw > people off the track). > > I understand Frans Lanting is planning a photographic trip there, as > soon as he can find enough people to volunteer as scouts, and a suit > of armour for himself. > > Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
