Unsurprisingly many of the species of animals on the archipelago are named after Hargreaves, the ground breaking naturalist who catalogued these animals in his revolutionary work on evolution.
Probably the best known of the animals native to Tamba- Tamba is the Hargreaves Bandicoot (Microperoryctes Hargreavsia). It featured on the pre- revolutionary coat of arms, and is as much of a national symbol as the kangaroo is to Australia.
Incredibly, the Hargie as it is affectionately known, was almost hunted to extinction, largely due to the traditional Easter culls that dated back to the earliest settlements.
These culls developed into highly effective sporting events during which thousands of Hargies would be bagged.
Thankfully the practice was outlawed after the revolution and the Hargreaves Bandicoot now thrives on the island once more.
The Hargie cull circa 1910...
The Easter Cull of 1963.
My Grandfather remembers these culls from as recently as 1970- he said it was wholesale slaughter- literally mounds of bandicoots, like something from the holocaust.
ReplyDeleteRegards- Dave Cox