Contexts - Rough Guide to Fiji - page 330

imported Caribbean pine. The most fertile soil is found along the river valleys, particularly
on the larger islands, and this is almost always converted to sugarcane farmland .
Several rogue species are beginning to dominate Fiji's native forests, notably the soft-
wooded and fast-growing African Tulip found along riverbeds and the mahogany tree in-
troduced over forty years ago. Over forty thousand acres of mahogany plantation are now
ready for cultivation, the largest supply of the lucrative hardwood outside Brazil.
COCONUT - A LIFELINE
The coconut palm ( Cocos nucifera ) is a symbol of paradise and lines the shores of most
Fijian beaches. For the islanders, it's a symbol of life and once accompanied the early
Polynesians on their epic journeys across the Pacific. Its practical uses are considerable:
the leaves are woven to make hats and baskets and used to thatch roofs, whilst the rigid
discarded midrib of the leaf is gathered to make sasa brooms. Milk from the young nuts is
drunk while the meaty flesh is eaten or scraped to make coconut cream. The mature nut has
a hard flesh which is dried and cut to make copra , from which commercial grade coconut
oil is produced. The hard inner shell of the coconut makes a handy bowl traditionally used
for yaqona drinking and to make earrings and other jewellery. The dry stringy fibres of the
outer husk are rolled to make magimagi , a coil used for binding bures and for decorative
art. Coconut fibres are also perfect for use as kindling and the husks often fuel the village
kitchen stove.
Coconut palms often reach 30m in height and you'll frequently hear the dull thud of a nut
falling to the ground. In fact, the threat of death by falling coconut has become something
of an urban myth, with a figure of 150 fatalities per year often reported by journalists (often
used in comparison to, say, shark attacks or plane crash statistics). This story can be traced
back to an article in the Journal of Trauma which focused on coconut injuries in Papua
New Guinea. Although there were four reported injuries and two deaths, these included
people who had died whilst climbing the trees. Given deaths caused by falling coconuts are
not recorded, the 150 figure is likely to have been plucked out of thin air.
Terrestrial birds and animals
Most impressive of the 57 native breeding terrestrial birds is the crimson Kadavu shining
parrot , unique to the islands of the Kadavu Group. Other large parrots can be found on
Taveuni, Gau and Koro. Most common of the smaller forest species are fruit doves, fantails
and white-eyes, with the fabulously vivid orange dove and golden dove being the most strik-
ing. The velvet-black silktail and dusky coloured long-legged warbler are the most elusive of
Fiji's birds and listed as critically endangered. The dry grasslands are the preferred hunting
grounds for Fiji's birds of prey , which include the Fiji goshawk, Pacific harrier and pereg-
rine falcon. Collared lories, parrot finches and honey-eaters can be spotted in urban gardens.