Tahiti of ocean, was made possible by using outrigger canoes that were up to twenty or thirty meters long and could transport families as well as domestic animals. In 1769, for instance, James Cook mentions a great traditional ship ("va'a") in Tahiti that was long, and could be propelled by sail or paddles. In 2010, an expedition on a simple outrigger canoe with a sail retraced the route back from Tahiti to Asia. Before the arrival of the Europeans the island was divided into different chiefdoms, very precise territories dominated by a single clan. These chiefdoms were linked to each other
Tahiti monarch in only four valleys in Tahiti. It lives in the canopy and understory in forests among mara trees ("Neonauclea forsteri"). Threats to the species include the degradation of its forest habitat by the invasion of exotic plant species, including "Miconia calvescens" and "Spathodea campanulata". The forest is also degraded by goat activity. Predation by rats and cats is a threat. The Tahiti kingfisher ("Todiramphus veneratus") is a competitor. Tahiti monarch The Tahiti monarch or Tahiti flycatcher ("Pomarea nigra") is a rare species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family. It is endemic to Tahiti in French Polynesia. There are fewer