 |
|
| The Antipodes |
|
|
|
|
For these days, the Antipodes is a reserve. Visitors are by permit only. Navy and Airforce patrol it.
But who would want to stay on Antipodes? The sheep and cattle introduced here all died, so things remain the way they've always been. Man's only legacy is mice.
 Mice form part of the wildlife survey. The usual questions are how many are there, what do they eat, and most importantly, are they harming the island's vegetation?
Early results indicate the damage to plants is small and acceptable. But how different if the rodent on the dissecting table was a rat? The rats' effects on bird life would have been disastrous.
And the Antipodes has been visited by disasters before. The fur seal is a case in that point. This species was virtually wiped out last century.
Beneath their coarse hair is a layer of soft brown fur, highly sought after by the fashionable of those times.
 In a decade sealers plundered the herds, and the fur seals disappeared from the Antipodes. It took more than 100 years for the seals to return, mostly young ones so far.
The seals don't breed here but the sea elephant does. The breeding ground is at peace. Males now tolerate each other. The impregnated females are back at sea.
The largest bull remaining ashore is about 16 years old. He's 5 meters long and when he regains condition his fighting weight will be about 3.5 tons. He'd be quite dangerous to approach on a flat beach but stuck between the rocks he can't lunge very far. Apart from this, his stinking breath is enough to keep the men at bay.
That fresh tingling feeling that comes from an early morning shower. Life is good if you are a sea elephant pup. These youngsters are full to overflowing. They resemble rather overstuffed cigars. And no wonder; before their mothers went to sea they suckled the pups on extremely rich milk. To say the pups thrived on mother's milk is an understatement. They gored themselves adding 10 kg to their body weight each day.
Soon they will put to sea, short day trips at first, returning to rest with their fellows. But within weeks they'll be gone for good. The Antipodes is merely a breeding platform. The real home of its creatures is out there.
(CCTV-2, "Earth Stories")
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
