Invasive Species

One thing that has surprised us a bit about New Zealand is how messed up the ecosystem is due to invasive species. Before humans arrived, New Zealand only had one land mammal, the bat. The bird species are typically slow and naive and have no natural defenses against the mammals that are prevalent on other continents. Possums and stoats (weasels), dogs, and cats were introduced to New Zealand and have taken a severe toll on the wildlife, including the native kiwi. Many of the forests we visited were mostly devoid of bird sounds. Interestingly, the possum is increasingly threatened in Australia, but has thrived with the nice climate and lack of predators in New Zealand. Plant species such as Douglas fir and broom have taken over much of the countryside as well. Douglas fir is considered a weedy pest, which is interesting given how fond we were of these trees in the Pacific Northwest.

One happy wildlife story is that the local New Zealand fur seal that was nearly hunted to extinction has made a strong comeback. We've spent a good amount of time with these creatures the last few days.