"Himalayan Tahr -

New Zealand's Mountain Monarchs - Understanding Thar Behaviour"

See More>>

Synopsis of the Book
"A (Nearly) Complete History of the Moose in New Zealand"

Fiordland.

Moose are still out there!

Originally realeased into Fiordland in 1910, Moose were thought to have become extinct several times.

Biologist Ken Tustin was drawn into the New Zealand Moose story when he ran a survey to determine Moose status for the Forest Research Institute forty years ago. His fascination with it since has been unwavering. His first book, A Wild Moose Chase, published by Wild South Books in 1998, described the search to confirm their existence.

Ken has used all available sources, published and unpublished, to pull together as comprehensive an account of Moose in New Zealand as possible for a species whose existence has often been shrouded in secrecy. Hundreds of interviews over forty years have yielded over 80 new Moose records. Over 60 credible records exist after 1950, where previously only about a dozen were thought to have occurred. Popular belief has it that only three bull Moose and two cows were ever shot; Ken has recorded 25. There is a richer moose history of sightings and shootings than New Zealanders might realize, with more than a few surprises among them. Additionally, emerging from stories of Moose come the tales of those who encountered them: Acclimitisation Society Rangers, lighthouse keepers, licensed hunters, surveyors, Internal Affairs Department deer cullers, supply drop pilots, fishermen, venison hunters and others.

Illustrated with many historic and unique photographs, the book traces the fascinating story of Moose from their introduction to the present day, celebrating 100 years of Moose in New Zealand.

Excerpt From The Book "A Wild Moose Chase"
"Fiordland in mid-winter. Soaked to the skin despite my parka, I was becoming very cold. Sometimes I wondered what I was doing here.
       In the gathering dusk I hunted quietly, pushing gently through dripping pepperwood inside the edge of the swampy clearing.
Then stopped again, alert and watchful. Still no sign of life.
      The sky was leaden-a week's rain had stopped only hours before. Dark forested slopes crowding the small valley dissappeared into low cloud. It was nearly dark. I shivered involuntarily. time to give up for another day.
       A final look around, a shrug to myself. Careless of noise now, I crossed the creek, knee deep and icy, and headed home, following the side of the stream along the clearing's edge to avoid the deep swamp. Some deer had used the same path recently- their tracks were clear in the wet sand. Then I noticed another set of tracks.
Quite different. crisp and clear in the mud. big splayed hoofprints. Large, slotted, dewclaw imprints.
      Rain and cold were forgotten! my heart hammered... Moosefootprints! Moose!
A New Zealand moose had walked here only a few hours before...

Excerpt From The Book "New Zealand's Mountain Monarchs"

A century ago, a little-known exotic animal, the Himalayan tahr, was introduced into New Zealand for big-game sporting purposes. From a few releasees at Aoraki Mt Cook, tahr have become permanent inhabitants of the subalpine zones in the central Southern Alps, but their ecology, lifestyle and behaviour, both here and in their homelands, remained largely undocumented. Until now.

Ken Tustin was drawn to working with Himalayan tahr: as a hunter, scientist, helicopter pilot and recently as a documentary videographer. His involvement with tahr spans 45 years. It began as a 19-year-old hunting tahr for scientific specimens for researcher Dr. Graeme Caughley. He then went on the study them himself as a scientist for the Forest Research Institute, covering many aspects tahr population demography, census, ecology, range use and behaviour, the latter involving a direct observation study, living alone, mid-slope in the Godley Valley in a tiny hut/hide for the best part of two years.

Ken's life then changed. A helicopter pilot based at Wanaka, his second career included work with tahr: aerial control for the Department of Conservation and tourist hunting for trophies in the Southern Alps, intermingled with long trips overseas. But Ken's special interest in tahr behaviour, inspired early by Dr. George Schaller on a working visit to NZ, remained unfulfilled. Many questions still begged, like understanding tahr social organisation, so dramatically and uniquely played out by this alpine animal. When medical misadventure halted his aviation career, Ken returned to his favourite animal, this time with notebook and camera. His interest went afield in a trip to Nepal with Italian mountain-animal expert Prof. Sandro Lovari, before returning to resume, in a different way, his self-funded odyssey back in the NZ mountains. The result of all these adventures is this book.

This is the very personal story of Ken Tustin's growing respect for a remarkable animal, seen over a lifetime, through the eyes of a hunter, researcher, pilot and behaviour-study videographer. One man's quietly increasing affection for an extraordinary wild animal: the Himalayan tahr.

For a signed copy please contact Ken at: Tustin@maxnet.co.nz
Book Information>>