60 WILD LIFK IN NEW ZEALAND. 



The cats, though nor numerous. \\ere fairly common, especially in 

 districts where cover, such as fern and scrub, was plentiful. They 

 trivw to an immense si/e, and were ^ranie to the last if attacked; 

 in fact, no dog would tackle one single-handed. Thev were always 

 in the pink of condition, which may be accounted for by the 

 abundance of feed available in the shape of wekas, ducks, and rats, 

 with perhaps a dead sheep or bullock occasionally. When the 

 rabbit-poisoning came in that class or variety of cat disappeared 

 along with the wild pi<: and weka. The reason for the extermina- 

 tion of the cat is because is prefers the entrails to the flesh. Since 

 that time, up to the present, cats have been turned out in consider- 

 able numbers, but the rabbit-trapping has effectually prevented their 

 increase, and the survivors still retain their original colours that 

 is. black, black-and-white, grey, grey-and-white, &c. ; but they are 

 much smaller than the wild cat of forty years ago. My opinion 

 is that had the original eat survived till to-day the colour would 

 have invariably been grey, or, rather, grey-striped." 



Mr. H. C. Weir, of Ida Valley Station, Otar<>. states that on 

 hi^h country, where rabbit-traps are seldom if ever used, they grow 

 to a very considerable size, and are most commonly of a ^i-< \ 

 colour ; but yellow, grey-and-white, and black are also to be met 

 with. He adds, " I cannot say I ever saw any approaching the 

 tiger-like stripe of the Home country wild cat, and I have seen a 

 good few of them in the wilds of Sutherlandshhv, Scotland." 



Some people consider that wild cats are responsible for much 

 of the failure which has followed the constantly renewed attempts 

 to natural i/e :anie birds. At the annual meeting of tin- Wellington 

 Acclimatization Society in 1898 a member said, "Cats are more 

 destructive to :aine than all the hawks, vreaaela, and itoatfi in tin- 

 colony. Most of the bush coverts are full of these eats, a fact 

 which I mvself proved near Feildinr. where, with the assistance 

 of traps baited with Miioked tish. 1 caught many." 1 think they 

 may have cont rihuted to some extent to this failure, but only in 

 a few parts of the country, and then chiefly in the neighbourhood 

 itlements. Personally. 1 do not think that wild cats have had 

 much to do with tin- extermination of introduce.] game. The whole 

 (iiestion is a difficult one to L r et any definite knowledge upon, 

 opinions differ so much. Thus Mr. Charlo .1 . Peters of Mount 

 s, considers that wild rats are far more effective in 



