THE ANIMAL LIFE OF THE GROUP. 295 



began to escape to a wild life, living on birds and mice in the mountains. Wild 

 cats are particularly troublesome in Hawaii. They are occasionally hunted, 

 especially by sportsmen in piirsuit of wild cattle, goats, pigs, chickens and 

 turkeys, all of which, like the cats, have lived many generations in a perfectly 

 wild state in the mountain forests on different islands of the group. 



N.\TivE Bats. 



There seems to have been at least one and perhaps two species of native 

 bats in the islands. They have always been rare, but apparently are still to be 

 seen in the uplands of Hawaii ; Dr. R. C. L. Perkins reports having seen the 

 small Hawaiian bat,^i or opeapea, on both Oahu and Kauai. This bat appears 

 to be the only undisputed natural mammalian immigrant to the group, as the so- 

 called native rat and mouse could luive been easily carried to Hawaii in the 

 wreckage of foreign ^^ vessels that may have reached the islands by chance 

 long before their discovery by Cook. 



Hogs .\nd Dogs. 



While it is perfectly proper to say that the rat, bat, and mouse were the 

 only native species of mammalia found by Captain Cook, we can well afford 

 to consider in this connection mammals that were of native introduction — 

 namely, the hogi^ and the dog.^* Just as the Polynesian people carried useful 

 plants with them on their wanderings, they also brought with them in their 

 canoes these two highly-prized and useful domestic animals known to them 

 in their more ancient home. The hogsi"' varied greatly in color, as they were 

 black, white,'" brindle, striped, reddish and spotted, indicating that the species 

 had long been in domestication. The Hawaiian dog was fed largely on poi. 

 and was much relished as food in old-time Hawaii. Like the hogs, they were 

 classed according to their color, there being several well-recognized color- 

 types. The Hawaiians also introduced a fowl.'" which was everywhere a 

 common article of food at the time of Captain Cook's visit. 



Introduced Animals. 



Since the discovery of the islands a number of mammals and birds have 

 been introduced by accident or design which have been permitted to return 

 to a wild state and in many instances are quite common. The first introduc- 

 tion of this class was that of goats and English pigs, and was made by Captain 

 Cook himself. One ram and two ewes and a pair of pigs were left by him on 

 Niihan in 1788. Cattle and sheep were introduced by Vancouver from Cali- 

 fornia in 1794, They were landed on Hawaii and rapidly increased in num- 

 ber. The first liorses in Hawaii arrived in 1803 and were presented to Kame- 

 hmeha I. 



^2 Spanish. ^^ 



often used in m 

 ne, rooster; moa 



