Hector’s dolphins are the smallest dolphin species in the world, and only around 10,000 them remain alive in the wild, off the shores of the South Island of New Zealand, NOAA reports. These dolphins stick to a territorial range of just over 32 miles, rarely venturing away from home, according to Akaroa Dolphins. Within the […]
Tag: new zealand
New Zealand bird of the year contest bars world’s fattest parrot from running
New Zealand’s annual bird of the year competition could usher in another round of controversy, with perennial favourite the kākāpō struck from the ballot after twice winning the competition. The fat, flightless and nocturnal parrot is the only species to reign twice as New Zealand’s favourite bird, in 2020 and 2008. This year, however, it […]
Antarctic researchers gain insights from on high as they count seals from space
Researchers believe they have accurately estimated Antarctica’s Weddell seal population for the first time – using images from space and the eyes of hundreds of thousands of citizen scientists. Weddell seals are a key indicator species in the Southern Ocean, for both sea ice fluctuations and shifts in the food web. They can live up […]
Young Seal Accidentally Breaks Into The House Of A Marine Biologist In New Zealand
What would you do if you go home one day and suddenly saw a pup that you don’t recall ever having adopted? Cute, if you think about it, I mean who doesn’t love puppies? But the pup I’m talking about is not the kind you’re probably thinking about right now; it’s actually an ocean puppy– […]
Eats, hops and breeds: New Zealand’s worsening wallaby plague
Pete Peeti flicks off the headlights, cuts the ignition and lets his truck roll quietly down a bush track, deep in the heart of New Zealand’s North Island. Twilight is slipping into night and rain is falling in thick drapes. “Close your door quietly when you get out,” Peeti says. He slings his gun over […]
Cats are eating NZ’s critically endangered bats
New research by Department of Conservation staff confirms what has long been suspected—feral and domestic cats are repeatedly hunting and eating New Zealand’s native bats, or pekapeka. In a recently published research paper in the NZ Journal of Zoology, DOC Science Advisor Dr. Kerry Borkin examined the gut contents of a feral cat trapped in […]
A third of Wellington’s kākā parrot chicks found to have lead in their blood
Lead has been detected in nesting native kākā chicks in Wellington, but unusually, the birds look to have developed a tolerance to the toxin, a study has found. Kākā are a noisy, smart parrot, with bright green plumage and blood red patches under their wings and chest. They are particularly animated at dawn and dusk, […]
New Zealand’s conservationists to eradicate predators like possums, rats, feral cats, and hedgehogs from Stewart Island
Conservationists in New Zealand are starting the biggest campaign in history to rid a populated island of imported predators. The conservation organization Predator Free Rakiura and the crown research center Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research have agreed to a four-year, $2.8 million partnership to eradicate predators like possums, rats, feral cats, and hedgehogs. The project will also […]