New Zealand is a unique island with no native mammals except for the long tailed bat. Because of this, a lot of birds are flightless, like the Kiwi and the Kakapo, and other animals ways of life are established from avoiding overhead predators like the Haast's Eagle.
When humans arrived and brought predators like possums, cats, dogs, ferrets, stoats, weasels, mice and rats, this was quite a shock for the animals. They did not know how to protect themselves so quite a few animals went extinct because the predators where eating both them and their eggs. Humans were also hunting animals for their fat, skins and feathers. This means that a lot of native New Zealand animals have low numbers and need saving. Organisations like the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Endangered Species Foundation are trying to save New Zealand's wildlife. |