ABSTRACT
An ecological catastrophe followed the arrival of people and the alien mammals that they introduced. The Maori settlers brought dogs (Canis familiaris) and Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans) with them. At least 58 endemic bird species were lost in this initial settlement phase, including several large ®ightless species such as moa (Dinornithidae), which were probably hunted to extinction within less than 100 years.2,3 The Polynesian rat seems to have eliminated several species of small birds, ®ightless insects, and reptiles.4
