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Fauna in New Zealand

Fauna in New Zealand: Birds, Fish, Insects, Reptiles and Mammals...

Fauna in New Zealand...

Birds in New Zealand...
Until humans arrived these islands had no native land animals, except for two species of bat discovered by early settlers. However, the country was alive with birds, no fewer than 250 species. A perfect balance of nature existed between vegetation and birdlife, but when humans set foot on the islands they brought rats, cats, and introduced mammals and birds. Many native birds, unable to adapt to the foreign predators, became extinct.

Native birds in the forest today include the tui (with its beautiful song), bellbird (its crystal-clear call is like the ping-pong of a door bell), fantail, kaka, kea, pukeko, morepork, and wood pigeon. The kaka is a shy, brown and green parrot. The kea, a dull brownish-green parrot with red underwings and a hooked beak, lives in the high country and is commonly seen in the Southern Alps as it scavenges around campsites. Cheeky and daring, it can cause a lot of damage to tents, boots, bicycle seats, or anything it can tear with its strong beak, and it has the reputation for sliding down the iron roofs of alpine huts in the wee hours of the morning.

The takahe, a rare bird unique to New Zealand, is found mainly in Southern Fiordland. Large, flightless, blue and green with red feet and bill, it was thought to be extinct until a small colony was rediscovered in 1948. Since then, 120 takahes have been found and are now protected in a restricted area in the Murchison Mountains.

Probably the best-known creature of New Zealand is the nocturnal kiwi, a flightless bird found nowhere else in the world - the national emblem of New Zealand. It has a round body covered in dense, stiff feathers (looks like shaggy fur from a distance), strong legs (kicks out when frightened), no tail, tiny invisible wings, a long beak, and a piercing call--"ki-wi." It's not easy to find a kiwi in the bush, but you can see them in a simulated natural environment in the many excellent nocturnal houses throughout the country.

The weka, another flightless bird, is as bold as the kea but not as common. Found in the west coast forests of the South Island and the Gisborne area of the North Island, it also helps itself to the food and property of campers. Introduced birds include the blackbird, thrush, magpie, chaffinch, sparrow, skylark, myna, white-eye, and goldfinch.

Fish, Insects, and Reptiles in New Zealand...
Known for its excellent fishing (fly and lure), New Zealand draws angling enthusiasts from around the world to dangle their lines in its lakes and rivers where fish grow to a healthy size and braggable weight and put up an admirable fight. Brown and rainbow trout, salmon, and char are the best-known freshwater fish. Brown trout are widespread and common; rainbow are more common in North Island lakes, but also live in many upland lakes of the South Island. Deep-sea fishing for marlin, sharks, and tuna is a popular sport in the Bay of Islands.

Of the numerous forms of insect life found throughout the country, one of the most audible is the cicada. Twenty or so species of cicada live in New Zealand, mostly above the timberline. Often mistaken for that of crickets, their song in the summer heat is an incredibly loud, raspy, clicking noise - one that seems to intensify in the evening - a distinct part of the summer atmosphere in New Zealand. The tuatara, a lizardlike reptile, now inhabits only about 30 islands off the country's coast (see live ones in the Southland Museum Tuatarium in Invercargill). It is believed to live at least 100 years, has a distinctly prehistoric appearance, and is often referred to as a "living fossil."

Mammals of New Zealand...
The wild animals in New Zealand are descended from pigs, goats, opossums, rabbits, weasels, ferrets, and deer released by European settlers. Some of these - especially deer, rabbits, goats, and opossums - adapted to their new environment so well that they rapidly became an environmental problem and had to be drastically hunted to control their populations.

Many domestic animals also adapted well to New Zealand, and play a large part in the success of the country's economy. Sheep (more than 68 million of which dot the countryside - roughly 20 sheep for every resident), cattle, and poultry are of prime importance.

Of eight species of deer, the red deer is the most common and widespread. When first released it had an abundant food supply (rapidly destroying the native forest undergrowth) and no predators, and its numbers increased rapidly. Commercial hunting from helicopters began in the 1960s, followed by profitable heli-hunting with live capture for deer farms.

Hunting is still encouraged, but in recent years controlled deer farming has become a valuable part of the economy. The deer are raised for meat, breeding stock, and for their antlers, which when in velvet are sold to the Asian market, crushed, and used as an aphrodisiac. The largest alpine mammals are tahr and chamois, distantly related to the goat. Excellent rock climbers, they are hunted for trophies.