Macquarie Island 1968: The Biologist and the Weka

From an old slide. At Bauer Bay the biologists had tamed a Weka (Gallirallus australis) to take morsels. Wekas are a flightless bird (also known as a Maori Hen) and were introduced from New Zealand in the late 1800s as a food source for sealing gangs. When the island came under the control of Parks Tasmania some time after our stay, the Wekas were exterminated as part of a programme to remove all feral animal species.