From: Eric LOEVE
To: 'cmmoorea@mail.pf'
Date : Monday 12 April 1999 11:26
Object: Moorea ClubMed Motu's cats
Mr Teach, ('village' chief at the moment)
As Dr MEGE says he is still waiting for these cats, could you tell us how things are today on your side?
Have you got any trouble?
Are the traps ready?
Which problem do you have to catch the cats ?
We wonder why things don't seems to go ahead.
As you can see, this e-mail is on copy with some of our foreign and local relations with which we try to overcome this affair along with you. You may show it to Mr Scott and to Mr Garnier (Resort Directors at this time). If they own their proper e-mail address, you would be kind to give it to me.
Here follows the report you asked for, on the visit we made last month on the motu.
Sincerely,
Eric LOEVE.
Papeete, the 28 mars 1999 at 19:20.
SURPRISE SURVEY REPORT
I. FACTS :
This morning Helène DESMEROUX, Secretary of Fenua Animalia, and me (Eric LOEVE, Treasurer) went on a surprise survey on the ClubMed's motu which is indeed the Motu Tiahura, and not Irioa, of Moorea Island. We took the only sunday morning boat allowing to bring a car on Moorea, at 7:45 and landing on Moorea by 9:00.
We first went to Dr MEGE Clinic we didn't knew. It was closed, obviously. Two phone numbers were billed, but, as we didn't went to meet him we continued strait to the Club Med, we reached by 10:00.
There, no responsibles but the staff. They were happy we come. They showed us the traps which are build to catch the cats. I took pictures of. If once they are used to catch ferrals cats it is important that the cats don't stay too much inside : They either will damage it or them, or both.
Then, by 11:30 we went to the motu. We first did a peripherial surrounding walk then a cross over. The whole took more than 1:00. The motu is wide, the center part haven't been covered by the sea since a long time. It is covered by a dense jungle : This was a coconut field long ago but abandonned, or quite, today.
The main upper trees are Coco (Cocos nucifera), Aito (Casuarina equisetifolia), and Purau (Hibiscus tiliaceus). Under the same trees, youngers with Nono (Morinda citrifolia), Pandanus (Pandanus sp.) and at our level the same with lantana (Lantana camara) and others shrubs, more or less covered by the decayed or dryed leeves of the others.
This explain I have had to use my machete sometimes and that ferral cats can vanish within a meter only.
The fauna is quite important : numerous lizards (Emoia cyanura), some rats tracks and feces (a few lesser than on the main Island), Land Birds (Estrilda astrild, Emblema temporalis, Pycnonotus caffer observed, alone, by couples or bands) and nests; Sea Birds : Noddis (Anous stolidus or minutus), white stern (Gygis alba), Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel., young on a coconut tree) and may be others.
Then, we stopped nearby a place where a barbecue is built with conglomerate. There are 2 places along the shore like that. This one is on the opposite side of the resort. We stopped nearby some garbages and wait. We disposed some cat food and stayed silently around.
A grey cat 6-8 month old went through and vanished. A few later an adult came and feeded quite a little can, but impossible to say which sex, may be a shy pragnant female (I took pictures of). Same color. She vanished too.
Quite immediately after a grey young one (4-6 month), may be a female too, came friendly, asking for food. She stayed a long while after eating, seeming also in good health but angry (at start). She couldn't accept the direct human contact. No mange in the ears, no squeletton, in all likelihood with worms and fleas, but all seeming sane in the main (not up to fat).
We leaved a few after (making an other cross through) because I wanted to have time to see a responsible in the resort, the only one available this time : the village chief, without rendez-vous, before taking the boat to return.
Someone (staff member) in the resort told me that she feeded two cats yesterday, but grey tabby, on the other side of the motu (ClubMed side) obviously not the same ones. We spent 3:30 on the motu.
II. ANALYSIS & CONCLUSIONS :
I am absolutely unable to say how much cats may live there now. This land is wide enough to be divided by the cats in distinct territories. To have an idea it needs to spend at least a night on the motu and to make some feedings nearby the garbages which seems to be an important point for at least the lessest ferral ones. May be traps have to be put around, but, even doing so, the full accounting would be impossible, even forgotting the "drift" made by ugly ones who abandon their pets here (which - thus - means this motu, like quite any other, will ever be a problem).
I can say that if they could find enough to eat it is a true paradise for them : no dogs, no cars, a few people, an alive dense forest to protect against storms or humans and to provide natural food. Halas, there is absolutely no warranties that water will be provided in enough quantity during the dry season, nor the "natural human feeding", which obviously often occurs, will remain strong enough on long lasting. (What I mean is the moreover erratic and weather sensitive behaviour done by kind people comming there randomly. Behaviour which appears everywhere in Polynesia from places to places, but which can't cover the giant polynesian need, and which consist in free feeding of ferral or abandonned pets).
I can't say how many ferral cats the land can ecologically accept, on long lasting, I guess about 5-15 depending on the true resources which I can't evaluate in a so short time. I can't say whether these ferral cats were dropped here only by the ClubMed, nor be sure they did so. A lot of people seems to come by their own ways (to own a little ship is a common thing in Polynesia). Furthermore the motu is wide enough to be the property of more than one owner : I met some barbed wires which proove that and this was confirmed at the resort.
The village chief told me the cats aren't feeded and will not be by the Club. I can understand : Knowing Polynesia, I can forsee that if they try to do so, within a short time the motu would be filled by hundreds cats abandonned there on purpose by privates ones.
We want to remember that ferral adults are quite impossible to civilize, to be reasonably proposed for adoption. This must be taken in mind seriously. For the youngers it is easier, but there is still no shelter in Polynesia.
The village chief told me too that the resort can shelter about ten spayed/neutherized cats, but no more. The eventual remainder will be a true problem if there are ferral adults in. Indeed the motu is wider than the resort, in terms of cat habitat.
He confirmed the ClubMed monitoring for the catching and transferts to the moorean vet's clinic (Dr Emmanuel MEGE) and for the traps.
I fear the time within which catched cats will remain in the traps be too long, especially in case of strong sea. An other thing to have in mind is that if once there were cats starving to death, today nothing can proof it is still the case, nor the reverse. Anyway the situation we saw today is not an overdramatic one, as those we face every days elsewhere.
From my point of view, this affair must be solved asap and seems to be on the good way, but it is a waste to concentrate whole our little energy on : There are a lot of other more critical situations (like the starving horses at pk 4.0, on Moorea) which needs to be worked out seriously in the same time.
To empty the motu, the main need today is the time : time to finish the traps, time to fetch the cats, time to bring them to the clinic and time to find out the best available place after.
Eric LOEVE.
DEA of Tropical Ecology and Biogeography ( = 5th year of Biology).