Word: mauritian
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...what nature can accomplish in eons, humanity can undo in millenniums, and that is exactly what the species Homo sapiens has done on Mauritius. By his own actions-and those of the animals he has introduced-man has already done away away the flightless black parrot, the giant Mauritian tortoise and the dodo, the huge bird whose very name has become synonymous with extinction. Now civilization threatens the rest of this island nation's rare birds and mammals...
...relieves their underlying tension. He and his party risked bites from golden fruit bats that objected to the indignity of having their private parts probed so their would-be saviors could ascertain their sex. They suffered seasickness and sunstroke to capture rare lizards. But to capture the cyclamen-colored Mauritian pink pigeon, all the rescuers risked was a fall from a tree. The birds proved so suicidally stupid that they merely watched, heads cocked with curiosity, as a Mauritian soldier the size of a middle linebacker climbed up a tree with all the agility of an elephant and snagged...
...been.'' In fact, Mauritius' claim -dates back only to 1959. nine years before the nation won independence from Britain. Last year, after learning that France intended to cultivate the Tromelin turtles for soup and tortoise shells, Sir Seewoosagur handed a note to his French ambassador reaffirming Mauritian sovereignty. Among other "proofs," the Prime Minister cited some unique documents that the World Court may be called on to examine: guano-gathering permits issued between 1901 and 1956 refer to the bird-bedecked island as a dependency of Mauritius...
Despite the improved political outlook, there is growing concern over the activities of the left-wing Mouvement Militant Mauricien, a Maoist group headed by Paul Berenger, 25, son of a well-to-do middle-class Franco-Mauritian family...
...weapons sweep sleepy Port Louis, but so far nothing has been proved. Berenger, who holds a degree in philosophy from the University College of North Wales in Bangor and is a veteran of the Paris street riots of May 1968, openly admits that he wants to overthrow the present Mauritian government. The M.M.M. claims about 10,000 hard-core members, but its program has wide appeal to the island's young and unemployed, who still number...