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Archive for the ‘nature’ Category

Kapiti SPCA has been inundated with more than 500 sub-Antarctic prion seabirds blown ashore by storms. Shelter manager Peter McCallum said the influx of broad-billed prions began on Monday when residents brought a few stragglers in, but by Tuesday they were arriving in droves. Yesterday about 400 exhausted prions, which are plankton eaters, were brought [...]

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NZ ON SCREEN To celebrate NZ’s unique natural taonga, Peter Hayden has curated a highlights collection from three decades of NHNZ productions. Aotearoa’s landforms and its magnificent menagerie of natural oddities – birds, insects, trees like nowhere else on the planet – are showcased in 15 award-winning titles. From Discovery Channel and David Bellamy, to [...]

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Thursday, 28 January 2010, 11:12 am Press Release: Department of Conservation A photograph taken of a baby tuatara on Wellington Harbour’s Matiu/Somes Island this month has confirmed for the first time that the rare reptiles are hatching on the island. The juvenile, just a few months old and about 8cm long, was spotted by Harriot [...]

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Monday, 21 December 2009, 11:12 am Press Release: NZ Plant Conservation Network Climate change increases value of Kiwi native plant The golden sand sedge – pingao – has won the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network’s 2009 favourite plant poll, and could be a valuable defence against climate change effects. The pingao topped more than 100 [...]

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Scoop: Top predator makes spectacular return to capital Photo by Tom Lynch, ZEALANDIA/Karori Sanctuary Trust. Click to enlarge Press Release: Zealandia New Zealand’s top predator makes spectacular return to the capital Conservation staff at the groundbreaking ZEALANDIA eco-sanctuary in Wellington believe they have found the first New Zealand falcons to have hatched in the city since the species disappeared as [...]

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Thursday, 3 December 2009, 12:14 pm Press Release: Department of Conservation December 3, 2009 Click for big version Kakariki breeding on Motutapu for first time in 100 years They’ve been gone for more than 100 years, but last week, a family of red-crowned parakeets was spotted flying down from the trees in a peaceful gully [...]

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First kaka chick of breeding season banded | Stuff.co.nz ROBERT KITCHIN/ The Dominion Post Just minutes out of the nest and the terrified chick found himself having two feathers pulled out, a microchip inserted and numerous measurements taken. Yellow Mauve Lime, named after his leg band colours, was the first kaka chick of this year’s [...]

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NZ Nature on screen To celebrate NZ’s unique natural taonga, Peter Hayden has curated a highlights collection from three decades of NHNZ productions. Aotearoa’s landforms and its magnificent menagerie of natural oddities – birds, insects, trees like nowhere else on the planet – are showcased in 15 award-winning titles. From Discovery Channel and David Bellamy, [...]

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07 October 2009 This week’s screening of the BBC’s “Last Chance to See” programme featuring New Zealand’s own conservation ambassador Sirocco the kākāpō, has catapulted kākāpō recovery into the international spotlight. Department of Conservation staff have been amazed by the response that viewers of the “Last Chance to See” programme, starring Stephen Fry and Mark [...]

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Media release from Mt John Observatory, Lake Tekapo 28 September 2009 click for bigger version An astrophotographer has discovered a kiwi in outer space from New Zealand’s internationally renowned Mt John Observatory. It may be 26,000 light years away but a high powered astro-photograph has picked up the distinct image of New Zealand’s national icon [...]

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Scoop: Native birds feel no fear when facing foes Click to enlarge Sarah Whitwell with the stuffed stoat and morepork she has been using to test fear responses of the North Island robin. Endangered native birds are at risk of losing their instinct to recognise and flee mammalian enemies when moved between predator-free and predator-filled [...]

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Scoop: On the lookout for lizards Click to enlarge Conservation staff on the DOC Poneke area-managed Matiu/Somes Island in Wellington Harbour are preparing for an exciting arrival on Friday’s 10 am ferry sailing. 15 rare Wellington green geckos, seven of which have spent the last twelve months on ‘sabbatical’ at the city’s Karori Sanctuary, are [...]

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First tuatara nest found in 200 years – 01 Nov 2008 – NZ Herald: New Zealand and International environment and global warming news The first confirmed tuatara nest in over 200 years on mainland New Zealand has been discovered at the Karori Sanctuary in Wellington. Sanctuary staff uncovered the four ping-pong-ball-sized leathery white eggs yesterday [...]

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Henry the Tuatara, has suddenly regained his sexual vigor, and scientists in a New Zealand zoo are excited that he is becoming a dad, after nearly 40 boring years living a life of an eunuch. Science world is also excited with Henry’s newly acquired fame, largely because his family is ‘ancient’, even pre-dating evolution of [...]

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A blind date with one of six eligible bachelors awaits a young female takahe when she is released onto Mana Island today. The seven-month-old bird, named Moa, will be paired with a single male on the island in the hope that they’ll eventually breed. Moa became sick early last week and was airlifted from her [...]

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TV3 > News > Weather/Environment News > Story > Rat scare at island sanctuary averted by four-legged hero An island sanctuary for rare birds has been at the centre of a pest scare today. Motuihe Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf has been rat-free for 15 years, but yesterday paw prints were found at several spots [...]

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Birds moved to new pest free home | NATIONAL | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz Thirty threatened Kakaruai birds have been successfully transferred to New Zealand’s newest sanctuary. Secretary Island, a 8,000 hectare island at the western end of Doubtful Sound in the Fiordland National Park, will be the new home to the Kaharuai, or South Island [...]

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Scoop: Endangered Species Highlighted in Tourism Report Click to enlarge New Zealand has received the worst possible ranking, last amongst 130 countries, for its protection of threatened species, according to the World Economic Forum’s latest Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report (T&TCR) Care for the Wild International chief executive, Dr Barbara Maas, who is currently in [...]

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TV3 > News > Weather/Environment News > Story > Iconic weta being relocated into central Christchurch They are not the prettiest in the insect kingdom but weta are an iconic New Zealand species – and they are going places. Tree weta are being collected on Banks Pensinsula as part of a project to move them [...]

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$35m plan to rid island of rats and feral cats – 11 Mar 2008 – NZ Herald: New Zealand and International environment and global warming news oil painting of South island Tomtit by Peter Jean Caley Stewart Island interests are considering an ambitious $35 million proposal to eradicate rats, wild cats and possums from the [...]

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