奇妙岛屿 17

Fortunately for the Stephens Island tuatara,

it did survive a brief mammal invasion.

But for some of the other wildlife here,

the invasion was rather more catastrophic.

The island had been uninhabited and largely ignored,

but that all changed with the construction

of this lighthouse back in 1894.

when the newly installed keeper,a Mr Lyall,

found an unusual wren on the island,

he sent a specimen to London for identification.

Like many island birds,

it was flightless.

And perhaps that's why it wasn't Mr Lyall

who first discovered the bird,

but his four-legged companion.

Tibbles proved to be a very efficient specimen collector.

So much so,

in fact, that one year later,

when the bird was officially declared a new species,

Mr Lyall had to regretfully inform the scientific community at large that

the species was now extinct.

In truth,

Tibbles wasn't the only feline to blame,

but the ease with which the Stephens Island wren had been dispatched was alarming.