samaritan and rats (25)

Think they were a gift of a food source to the Maori by the Hawaiian chieftain so that the Maori had food to sustain them after the Hawaiians kicked them out

Kiore travelled across the Pacific to New Zealand in the canoes of Polynesian seafarers, the ancestors of Maori. These hardy rodents found plenty to plunder in their new home – and became a threat to many native plants and animals.



and another site explains

Kiore
The kiore was introduced to New Zealand by Maori settlers in about the 10th century. It grows to about 20 cm long, including its tail, and was considered a delicacy by pre-European Maori.
Although numbers of kiore in New Zealand are now small, it is the world's third most widely distributed rat, and can be found throughout South-east Asia and the Pacific.
Kiore live in the forest and eat a wide range of foods, including seeds, fruits, lizards, insects, eggs and chicks. They are poor swimmers, and have only reached the off-shore islands when transported by man, either accidentally or deliberately.
Kiore are now found only in Fiordland, Stewart Island and some off-shore islands.
The kiore is regarded by some Maori as a taonga, or treasure because of its cultural and spiritual importance, because of this the Department of Conservation have consulted with local Maori in developing a plan which involves the future eradication of the kiore from 15 of these islands.