Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1907-11-14

eAS AAANASJt VAASA ASA Aho Avn opSSAos
delicacy."
From the evidence of men who
have seen many sheep killed and
wounded by keas, this statement ap-
pears to be erroneous; and of the
many correspondents that have COM
municated with me, only one states
that the bird eats the kidneys, and
later on, the same writer says: II
have shot many keas by the dead
sheep, and they have vomited up
fat" 1t appears as If, even in this
instance, the birds eat the fat rather
than the kidneys.
One reason why people suppose
the kea to be fond Of kidneys is that
the keas nearly always attack the
sheep on the loin, just near these Or
gans. But this may be due to the
fact that the rump Of the-sheep is
its widest part. and provides firm
foothold for the kea. Several witt
nesses say that it is impossible for
the kea to keep on the sleeps back
unless he perches on this part. Fur
thermore, when flying after sheep,
the rump is the nearest and handiest
part to settle on; and as the birds
often have to alight on the sheep
when 1t Is running, 1t is no wonder
that the rump is the part chosen. 1t
naturally follows that when perch ed
on the animals hind quarters, the
bird will commence to pick the
sleeps back at the handiest part,
namely, the loin, which is very easy
to tear open, owing to the absence of
ribs. Even the first recorded &C
counts of sheep killing mentioned
that the birds attacked the loin.
can hardly believe, as some people
do, that by some kind Of instinct the
kea knew where the kidney fat was
to be found in the live sheep. This
latter idea is somewhat upset by the
fact that cases have been seen where
the flesh around the backbone has
been eaten, and the kidney and the
kidney fat left almost untouched.
We now come to the interesting
question as to how the kea acquired
the habit of killing sheep and eating
the carcasses. This can never be
completely answered. but there are
several theories which are we'll worth
considering, as they throw certain
amount of light on the reasons for
the bird's S change of diet.
/. rAe Vegetable Sheep" theory
is certainly the most popular, though
1t has very little to recommend it.
The supporters of this theory sup
pose that the kea had been in the
habit Of tearing open the vegetable
sheep" Haastia pulvinaris and Raou-
liza eximia, in search of grubs which
are supposed to live in these peculiar
plants. They are found especially
in the northern half of the Middle
Island ut n altitude of from 1900 to
5000 feet, and in external appear
ance they somewhat resemble
sheep, growing as they do in the
form of cushions often as large as
sofas, and the whole surface having a
woolly appearance. 1t was supposed
that when the sheep first wandered
into the kea's domains the birds mis-
took them for the wool-like plants,
and with the idea of digging out
the grubs, they began to tear open
the skin of the sheep. In this way
the keas are supposed to have ac-
quired the method of killing the
sheep and eating the flesh.
This all sounds very feasible, but
on further investigation, It is found
that the true facts do not support
the theory.
l. Where the keas were first
known to kill sheep, the vegetable
sheep do not exist.
2. There are no grubs in vegeta-
bic sheep that are large enough to
attract the keas.
3. In places were both the keas
and the vegetable sheep are found,
the latter is never seen in torn-up
condition.
1t seems me that unless further
evidence is forthcoming to support
this theory, it must be left out Of
consideration.
II. The Curiosity Theory" sug.
gests that the kea, being very in
quisitive bird and fond of investiga-
ting anything at all strange that
comes in its way. when 1t first saw
the sheep wandering in its domain,
at once began to investigate this
strange object, and so learned to
tear the sheep open.
III. The Hunger Theory" sug-
gests that the lack of food caused
the birds to feed on the fat and
meat thrown away at the sheep sta
tions. In this way it obtained
taste for meat, and soon became dar-
ing enough to attack the living ex-
ample.
w. The "Maggot Theory" sug-
gests that the birds first began to
eat the maggots found on the dead
sheep, and soon learned to eat the
meat and then to attack live sheep.
This theory seems to have much
in favor of it, especially when we
remember that the kea is naturally
Again, the very fact
that the birds seem fond of dead
carcasses rather supports this theory.
1t is of course impossible to say
which theory is nearest the truth,
but / think that there Is no doubt
that the main factors that caused
the harmless keas to change their
diet and become birds of prey of no
mean order are expressed in the
last three theories.
In conclusion, think that I am
justified in saying that, as far as
human evidence can be relied on,
have conclusively proved that the
kea has not only taken to meat eat
ing, but that it does actually attack
and kill sheen for the sake of the