In New Zealand, the return of wild takahē populations marks a cautiously celebrated conservation victory, and the return of one of the world’s rarest creatures. The birds had been formally declared extinct in 1898, their already-reduced population devastated by the arrival of European settlers’ animal companions: stoats, cats, ferrets and rats. After their rediscovery in 1948, their numbers are now at about 500, growing at about 8% a year.

  • TaldenNZ@lemmy.nz
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    1 year ago

    New Zealand doesn’t really have any deadly animals.

    No scorpions, snakes (other than the very appearance of a sea-snake), crocs, large cats, bears, etc. Our most venomous spiders can generally only make most people a little bit unwell. We might occasionally see a potentially dangerous shark but they’re so rare that I can’t recall when a notable attack happened.

    Our insects aren’t generally disease spreaders - though we’ve come close a few times to some getting a foothold.

    Colonists introduced many destructive species but nothing very personally dangerous. In theory there could still be moose, but it seems unlikely.

    The only NZ native land-mammal is a tiny bat as far as I know.

    There is the small problem with orcs, goblins, trolls and Australians… but it’s okay, we have a wizard (retired?).

    • anon6789@beehaw.orgOP
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      1 year ago

      Thank you for all that! As I said, we don’t seem to get taught much about that part of the world. LotR is probably the only NZ thing I can recall of the top of my head, which is pretty embarrassing.

      • TaldenNZ@lemmy.nz
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        1 year ago

        In that case let’s really blow your mind…

        A Kiwi is a bird or a person, not a fruit.

        … Also New Zealand is comprised of three major islands North Island, South Island and West Island… Also some of my facts may be slightly inaccurate - but not the bit about the fruit.

        • anon6789@beehaw.orgOP
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          1 year ago

          I had heard the kiwi stuff, but you had me second guessing myself!

          I did look up the island names since I had never heard Aotearoa before, and a few of the blurbs say there are a few hundred actual islands that make up New Zealand, but it seems nobody can agree on an actual number because they all have a different estimate.

          • TaldenNZ@lemmy.nz
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            1 year ago

            Actually New Zealand has quite a few islands and more than three that are inhabited, but the three that most people refer to are North Island, South Island and Stewart Island (even though there are larger populations on others). The fourth most likely inhabited island to be mentioned is Waiheke Island (and the third most populated).

    • Malgas@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      Haast’s Eagle is said to have sometimes hunted and killed people (it’s main prey were moa, so it was definitely physically capable of it) but it’s been extinct for like 600 years.