- “That isn’t really a pig”09/04/2024Gerald McCormack, CINHT The Cook Islands has a rich tradition of working with spirits. In ancient times all misfortune and ill-health were attributed to spirits who consisted of a plethora of Gods (Atua/Aitu) and the countless souls of deceased people (vaerua tangata). Life revolved around the [continue reading…]
- Cook Islands Humpback Whales – Part 123/02/2024Gerald McCormack, CINHT The dedicated researchers in the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium, including Nan Hauser, have made a large contribution to the recent explosion of information about Humpback Whales. Although science is always a “work in progress” this seems like a good time to review [continue reading…]
- Cook Islands Humpback Whales – Part 223/02/2024Gerald McCormack, CINHT Soviet illegal whaling The ‘Aluet’ (Aneyt), a Soviet Union factory ship, 1958. Photo by Yulia Ivashchenko.I came to Rarotonga in 1980 and over the next few years periodically saw a humpback or two. At that time Ron Powell and George Cowan told me that humpbacks [continue reading…]
- Is Mangaia the oldest island?07/02/2024Gerald McCormack, CIHT In the Quarantine Quiz (CINews 29 May) the oldest island in the Pacific was listed as Mangaia at 18 million years (Ma). This idea gained popularity with the 2010 publication entitled “Tangi ke – Welcome to Mangaia – The oldest island in the Pacific”, by the [continue reading…]
The spread of the “farmers friend” – the myna23/01/2024Gerald McCormack, CINHT The myna is locally much loathed as a pest, yet it arrived in the early 1900s with such high hopes as the “farmer’s friend”. We follow its triumphant march from India to many countries, including the Cook Islands. The “farmer’s friend” The Common Myna is indigenous to [continue reading…]- Black Shouldered Lapwings – a rare vagrant16/01/2024Gerald McCormack, CINHT On the 30th of August, Maureen Goodwin saw two unusual birds on her inland Muri lawn. She Googled and identified them as Australian Southern Lapwings rather than the Northern due to the black ‘ei kakī (collar). Over the next few days, the birds fed, ran over the lawn, and [continue reading…]
- Te Ko’u summit biodiversity16/01/2024Gerald McCormack, NHT The inland mountains of Rarotonga maintain one of the most pristine tropical forests in the Central South Pacific. The biodiversity crowning glory of the inland forest is in the Cloud Zone, which is recognised by the occurrence of two particular ferns. Depending upon the [continue reading…]
