Kagu pigs and dogs. New Caledonia lacked mammals (except for bats) before the arrival of humans, and many of its native species have been negatively affected by introduced mammals. Rats have a big impact on nestlings, accounting for 55% of nestling losses. Kagus also suffer from habitat loss caused by mining and forestry. Concern was first raised about the future of the kagu in 1904. The first concrete evidence of the impact of dogs came when a New Zealand researcher's study population was quickly exterminated by dogs in the 1990s, although suspicions about the importance of dogs and other predators had
Kagu-tsuchi "Engishiki", a source which contains the myth, Izanami, in her death throes, bears the water god Mizuhame, instructing her to pacify Kagu-tsuchi if he should become violent. This story also contains references to traditional fire-fighting tools: gourds for carrying water and wet clay and water reeds for smothering fires. The name "Kagutsuchi" was originally a compound phrase, consisting of "kagu", an Old Japanese root verb meaning "to shine"; "tsu", the Old Japanese possessive particle; and "chi", an Old Japanese root meaning "force, power". Kagutsuchi was the patron deity of blacksmiths and ceramic workers. He is worshipped in several shrines, one