| [00:00.00] |
Fortunately for the Stephens Island tuatara, |
| [00:03.04] |
it did survive a brief mammal invasion. |
| [00:05.93] |
But for some of the other wildlife here, |
| [00:08.14] |
the invasion was rather more catastrophic. |
| [00:11.35] |
The island had been uninhabited and largely ignored, |
| [00:14.68] |
but that all changed with the construction |
| [00:17.38] |
of this lighthouse back in 1894. |
| [00:21.45] |
when the newly installed keeper,a Mr Lyall, |
| [00:24.98] |
found an unusual wren on the island, |
| [00:27.57] |
he sent a specimen to London for identification. |
| [00:31.19] |
Like many island birds, |
| [00:33.16] |
it was flightless. |
| [00:34.97] |
And perhaps that's why it wasn't Mr Lyall |
| [00:37.86] |
who first discovered the bird, |
| [00:39.69] |
but his four-legged companion. |
| [00:42.15] |
Tibbles proved to be a very efficient specimen collector. |
| [00:46.47] |
So much so, |
| [00:47.57] |
in fact, that one year later, |
| [00:50.16] |
when the bird was officially declared a new species, |
| [00:53.20] |
Mr Lyall had to regretfully inform the scientific community at large that |
| [00:58.11] |
the species was now extinct. |
| [01:02.29] |
In truth, |
| [01:03.06] |
Tibbles wasn't the only feline to blame, |
| [01:05.38] |
but the ease with which the Stephens Island wren had been dispatched was alarming. |