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New Zealand fauna is unusual. With the exception of
two species of bat, no indigenous mammals are native to New Zealand. The only
other wild mammals at present are those that have been introduced and they
are usually considered as pests. These includes deer, goats, pigs, rabbits,
weasels, ferrets, and the Australian opossum, as well as domesticated animals
such as dogs and cats.
New Zealand contains no snakes and has only one poisonous spider called the Katipo, which is related to the Australian Redback. The Katipo is very rare and its bite is never lethal. Insects include the Weta which is extremely frightening in appearance, but is relatively harmles.
New Zealand's most unigue animal is the Tuatara, which is a lizard-like reptile that predates the Dinosaur and is considered a living fossil.
There are some 70 species of birds found nowhere else in the world, more than a third of them are flightless, and almost a quarter of them nocturnal. The survival of flightless birds was attributed to the absence of predatory animals, but introduced species have made New Zealand a much less favourable place to live for these birds and subsequently many flightless birds are endangered and some have become extinct. Notable New Zealand birds include the Kiwi, Tui, Bellbird,Kakapo, Takahe, and Weka. New Zealand is also home to many seabirds including the Albatross, which has the longest wing span of any bird in the world.
The most spectacular of all New Zealand birds was the Moa. Unfortunately this exceptional bird was hunted to extinction by the time the first European set foot on New Zealand. Some Moa's reached heights of 15 feet, making them the tallest bird in the world. There have been some supposed sightings of this bird in remote areas, but there has never been any hard evidence that it still exists. It must be noted however, that there are still areas in New Zealand that have never been sighted by humans, particularly in Fiordland. This does open a remote and unlikely possibility that it could still exist. A bird called the Takahe was once thought to be extinct, but was rediscovered in a remote area of Fiordland in 1948. Through successful breeding progams, this bird now has a healthy population.
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