It's a funny thing, but this little old Noah's Ark that we live on,.... good old Aotearoa, is a veritable cacophony of colour, variation and adaption.
Endemic species (belonging to this country)
Example: The Kiwi and Kauri are only 'naturally' found here in NZ
Of course, collectors around the world may have the odd Kauri growing in their gardens, or a spare kiwi in with the guinea pigs or under the bed, but generally these species are only found here in NZ
We have the odd giant species: Snails, buttercups, daisies and Kakapo
- 6,000 beetles
- 5,800 fungi
- 2,500 higher plants
- 2,000 moths and butterflies
- 1,100 spiders
- 1,000 land snails
- 550 mosses
- 500 liverworts and hornworts
- 170 earthworms
- 85 millipedes
- 91 birds that breed and feed on land
- 80 skinks and geckos
- 38 freshwater fish
- seven frogs
- three bats
- two tuatara.
Some species need and deserve special discussion. Some species are on the verge of extinction and some are thriving. Issues like climate change have an impact on our native species, as does deforestation, farming intensification, forestation, species programme funding and political will.