Starry bid approved 
New Zealand's bid to have the Tekapo-Aoraki night sky declared a World Heritage reserve site has been accepted at a UNESCO meeting in the Canary Islands before final approval at the UNESCO world heritage meeting in Rio de Janeiro next year. Former Labour cabinet minister Margaret Austin told the conference the area around Tekapo, in the South Island's MacKenzie District, has pristine, dark unpolluted skies with one of the most accessible observatories in the world. Austin said she was overwhelmed New Zealand's bid was approved. The other sites also to be considered for world heritage status are from Austria, Spain, Chile, and Hawaii. Only the New Zealand and Austrian locations have been recognised as "mixed sites"  — acknowledging not only their pristine night sky but also their surrounding landscape and the opportunities for astro-tourism. The move to formally recognise night skies as World Heritage sites was a big move for UNESCO Austin said. "It's almost like an evolution. They've gone from monuments to landscapes to cultural landscapes and now they're taking another step." 
(12 November 2009)

Tree gods unite 
A ceremony to form a "sister-tree relationship" between Waipoua Forest's Tane Mahuta and an ancient Japanese cedar tree located on Yakushima Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was held this month at the base of the giant kauri. The project was launched by the New Zealand Tourism Board which hopes that by linking large and ancient trees, a message of forest preservation will spread. Tane Mahuta belongs to the Araucariaceae family of conifers. It is 51 metres tall and has a trunk girth of 13.8 metres. It is believed to be between 1200 and 2500 years old. 
(23 April 2009)

Slippery subjects 
Maori eel catching methods are related in a new book about migratory animals by American artist and author James Prosek, who spent time in New Zealand studying the fish. Bird, Butterfly, Eel is designed for children and features colourful paintings and a concise story line following a year in the life of a barn swallow, a monarch butterfly and an eel. Prosek said being among the Maori helped to change his world view, allowing him to dwell much more on the mystery of how things happen rather than being focused solely on finding out why. Prosek has also written an article on eels that will be published in a future issue of National Geographic focusing on the Maori. "The Maoris eat the eels, but they let them go if they have red eyes," Prosek said. "The Maori believe the ones with red eyes are 'taniwha,' or guardian eels, that might cause them to die if they kill or eat them." 
(17 January 2009)

Antarcticans unite 
Nearly every New Zealander, according to American author of The Entire Earth and Sky: Views on Antarctica, Leslie Carol Roberts "has some link to Antarctica — either they had been there, or someone they knew had been there, or they are trying to go." While few North Americans know or, admittedly, care about that remote landmass, Roberts found a very different attitude in New Zealand, where she did some of her studies for the book. "Most people don't realise that New Zealand has a large land-claim in Antarctica, called the Ross Dependency," Roberts says. "I found this relationship of tiny island nation and ice continent really resonated for me, and so it became a large part of the narrative: how Antarctica inhabits New Zealand, what its stories mean there. ... They are mad for Antarctica there." 
(19 November 2008)

To cascading waters
Waiheke Island, home to 8000 people and 30 vineyards, is a "true microcosm of Aotearoa" writes Boston Globe reporter Stephanie Stephens, who is "struck by the endearingly lower-stress pace of New Zealand life" coming upon a road sign warning, "Slow Down, You're Here." Stephens takes "the loop" and some scenic detours "noting that the geography is loosely defined by small, beautiful bodies of water", including Putiki Bay, then Anzac Bay, along with Waikopou and Owhiti bays. At Cable Bay Vineyards "it's a toss-up as to what's most impressive: the pinnacle-top location and view to Auckland, the sleek architecture, or head chef Will Thorpe's menu ..."Why Waiheke? Why, oh why not?" 
(7 September 2008)

Incredible journey 
The NZ bar-tailed godwit is officially the migratory champion of the avian world. The bird has been tracked from its summertime home in NZ to its breeding ground in Alaska, and back again, by an international group of researchers led by Massey University ecologist Phil Battley. A female bar-tailed godwit known as E7 was one of 13 birds satellite tagged in NZ at the beginning of the year. She flew non-stop for 10,200km to Yalu Jiang in China, then a further 5,000km to Alaska, before making another non-stop 11,500km journey back to NZ in September. "[It's] just so far up from what we used to believe 10 years ago when we were thinking a five or 6,000km flight was extremely long," said Battley. "Here we've doubled it." 
(13 September 2007)

Simple pleasures in spectacular surrounds 
Stewart Island is now home to NZ's 14th national park - Rakiura, named after the anchor stone of Maui's canoe (the South Island). A Toronto Star writer visited the rugged outpost and was won over by the fresh food (paua fritters, blue cod and chips), unpronounceable fauna (piwakawaka, ngirungiru and tokoeka) and spectacularly unspoiled landscape. "Stewart Island is NZ's least farmed, least logged and least built-up region … [It] has a mere 22 kilometres of road but 280 kilometres of walking trails, some right in Oban but one of 181 kilometres that can take two weeks to cover." 
(11 March 2006)

World's rarest given Kiwi name 
A grove of one of the world's rarest trees has been named after NZ plant conservation scientist David Given. The Wollemi Pine, believed to be extinct until re-discovered in Australia's Blue Mountains in 1994, is a close relative to the NZ Kauri. The grove of five trees - christened the David Given collection - was auctioned at Sotheby's in October.
(October 2005)

Lives on the edge
National Geographic report details NZ’s world-leading conservation programmes, set up to preserve and protect our “virtual Noah's Ark of bizarre animals.” NZ is considered a pioneering force in the establishment of animal sanctuaries, with 198 translocation projects involving 34 bird species to 75 offshore islands taking place since the 1890s. Success stories such as the black robin, takahe, saddleback, and kakapo continue to inspire conservation workers in their painstaking work.
(21 September 2004)
    

Mother of invention
Age feature charts former Thompson Twin Alannah Currie’s career trajectory from 80s popstar to the face of MadGE (Mothers Against Genetic Engineering) - NZ’s most visible opponent of genetically modified crops. Currie is credited with making the anti-GM movement fashionable, using celebrities, ironic humour, and eye-catching art-work to bring the issue to media attention. The government’s recent lifting of a moratorium on GM field trials has done nothing to stem Currie’s passion for the cause: “If it's down to me, we have to get a lot more radical than before. We're going to pull crops out and there will be loads of other people with us. If there's loads of us, how can they arrest all of us … I can only get a lot worse.” Currie has left MadGE in the time since the interview. Says Susie Lees of GE-Free NZ in Food and Environment, "We appreciate everything she has done and will be sorry to see her go."
(11 January 2004)
     

Kiwis: our sheep don't stink 
The No.8 gene gets Wired for the 21st Century: "With about 45 million sheep and only 5 million people, New Zealanders hear their fair share of sheep jokes. When it comes to biotechnology and sheep, however, New Zealanders are laughing all the way to the bank. Because New Zealand doesn't have any major animal diseases, the country is a great petri dish for animal-related biotechnology experiments and, given this far-flung country, a competitive advantage in certain areas of research."
(01 April 2002)
       

Tuatara: taking it easy?
BBC News features research undertaken by Victoria University Tuatara Research Group (Professor Charles Daugherty and student Nicola Nelson) into the habitat of New Zealand's "living fossil", the tuatara. "They've been around since the time of the dinosaurs, so they've been through climate change before and survived, whereas dinosaurs didn't, so they must have some mechanisms for coping with it." "Yesterday's reptile" also stars in a Guardian special that asks of the cold-blooded animal that breathes just once an hour: "How much longer can Sphenodon punctatus sit at the mouth of its burrow, and watch the aeons go by?"
(27 March 2002)
          

New Zealand nature on the edge of London
An oasis of calm - in the form of a 105-acre wildlife reserve - has been developed just seven miles from the bustle of the centre of London. The Wetlands Center includes a New Zealand white water exhibit, featuring the endangered blue duck.
(21 May 2000)
       

Mum's the word: experience counts
Register for trial and search 
Ecologist Elissa Cameron at Massey University has found that older mothers make better mother's simply because they use their time more efficiently - or at least mares do. The discovery was made in a study of feral mares and their foals.
(22 April 2000)
           

Fishy dispute
The science of salmon conservation is muddy, but, as New Zealand's introduced salmon show, the king of fish is an adaptable beast.
(2000)
 

Organic expert export
Organic farmer Evelyn Eng-Lim is introducing the organic lifestyle to Singapore and hopes to set an example for other farmers to follow, "If other farmers see that it is commercially viable, then they will be convinced to go organic as well." For advice she turns to a New Zealand expert in biodymanics agriculture, Mr Peter Procter.
(16 July 2000)
        

Hatchery to home 
In the last eight years, 89 chicks have been returned to the wild by the Whakatane Kiwi Project, and on a recent holiday to New Zealand, Vancouver-based freelancer Jennifer Laidlaw joins a crowd of 200 to watch Te Kauhoe, or the Paddler, make his own trip from box to burrow in the Mokorua Scenic Reserve. Conservationist with the Whakatane Kiwi Project Kerry Oates pulls back the top of the box, and carefully lifts out the brown, chicken-sized kiwi. "Come on, come on," he clucks softly as the kiwi frantically shoves his long beak into Oates' armpit. "Come on little guy, it's time to see your new home," Oates says. 
(12 December 2009)

South Island sauropods 
Proof that dinosaurs did roam the South Island 70 million years ago has been found with the discovery of 20 footprints across a 10km stretch in northwest Nelson. The footprints were found by geologist Dr Greg Browne in the remote Whanganui Inlet, and though he made the discovery a decade ago, it wasn't made public until now. Browne said the dinosaur link only emerged after several years of study. "The structures show evidence that they were formed by something large and heavy that depressed the sand downward because of the load," he said. The round markings, up to 60cm across, would have been made in beach sand and preserved by "wet sticky mud" washed in by the tide. Browne believes the footprints belonged to sauropods plant-eating dinosaurs which were among the largest animals to have lived, growing up to six metres in length and weighing several tones. The latest find will be published in the New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics in December. 
(7 November 2009)

Our feathered friends 
"New Zealand's island ecology - from the kauri trees to the kiwi, the country's emblematic bird — is unique," writes The Independent on Sunday's Ben Ross. "Twenty years ago, Douglas Adams — the man behind the comedy science-fiction epic The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy — arrived with naturalist Mark Carwardine. The writer was intrigued by the peculiarities of the birdlife. With no cats, dogs, ferrets, or other mammalian land predators, there was little for the birds to fear, so many lost the use of their wings. Douglas Adams suffered a fatal heart attack in 2001, aged just 49. But his affection and concern for New Zealand's strange wildlife is celebrated in the Last Chance to See television series currently being broadcast on the UK's BBC2, in which Carwardine and Stephen Fry take up the kakapo's tale." 
(3 October 2009)

Tectonic action 
GNS Science geophysicist Dr Grant Caldwell and colleagues have reported that water deep beneath earthquake zones in New Zealand triggers tremors. Caldwell and his colleagues were able to determine how water is moving and concentrating below fault zones in the northern part of the south island, where the Pacific plate slides underneath the Australian plate. The team used magnetotellurics, which probes earthquake zones using naturally occurring low frequency electromagnetic waves generated by solar activity and lightning storms, to obtain a picture of what was happening down to 100 kilometres below the earth's surface. Caldwell says scientists believe pressure of water building up beneath the fault can get so great it can cause it to rupture, leading to an earthquake. "The addition of water into the base of the fault makes it easier for the fault to fail," he said. The study is published in the prestigious journal Nature. 
(6 August 2009)

Pekapeka predecessors 
New Zealand's endangered lesser short-tailed bat descended from 20-million-year-old Australian relatives, new research has found. Scientists had long thought that the bat evolved its walking preference independently. Since the bat's native habitat lacks predators researchers reasoned that — much like flightless birds on isolated islands — the bat had adapted to its safer surroundings in part by walking. But the discovery of fossils of a now extinct walking bat in northwestern Queensland, Australia, suggests otherwise. "We were amazed to find they were virtually identical to the bats in New Zealand today," said study leader Sue Hand, a paleontologist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Of the 1100 known present-day bat species, the lesser short-tailed bat and the American common vampire bat are the only two known to walk on the ground. 
(4 August 2009)

Shaking us all a little closer 
The recent Fiordland earthquake (strongest earthquake in 78 years) has left New Zealand and Australia a little closer — 12 inches to be exact. The magnitude 7.8 quake on July 15 struck the South Island as the strongest earthquake this year. The quake was strong enough to push the Western Coast of the South Island about a foot closer to Australia. "They're just that little bit closer to paradise," said Rob Valentine, the mayor of Hobart in Australia's island state of Tasmania. "As neighbors, we're really close, we can work together to take on the rest of the world." 
(27 July 2009)

True colours 
The oldest moa feathers yet discovered and their DNA are providing New Zealand and Australian scientists with clues to the plumage of the giant bird - perhaps not unlike a giant chicken and speckled in appearance. Scientists from Landcare Research and Adelaide University identified four different moa species after gathering ancient DNA from moa feathers believed to be at least 2500 years old. Adelaide University doctoral researcher Nicolas Rawlence says usually when artists reconstruct the big bird, they refer to related species, like the Australian emu, as a model for its plumage. But do moa really look like emus? By digitally comparing the colour of ancient red-crowned parakeet feathers found alongside the moa feathers, with living parakeet feathers, the researchers could determine that the feathers at the site had not faded. Recreated feathers produced the same speckled plumage as seen in the kiwi. 
(1 July 2009)

Pests busted 
Orchard worker Don Sullivan and a team of 30 trappers have been awarded the Forest & Bird annual Pestbuster prize for their work in nabbing 530 pests over the last year in four forested areas near Nelson. The team's tally for the year was 234 possums, 204 rats, 69 mice, 14 hedgehogs, 6 stoats and 3 weasels using 325 traps. Sullivan has also spent time and money building 750 traps, some of which he has given to other pest control groups. Sullivan realised the need for pest control when he noticed a decline in birdlife while tramping. As the areas in which he works have been more intensively trapped, he has seen a rise in numbers of bellbirds, tomtits, fantails, kakariki and weka. A kaka was heard recently in Upper Marsden Valley for the first time in 20 years. "We are trying to get the birdlife back so the children can see them," he says. "Rats and possums are the main problem." 
(14 June 2009)

Safe haven for seals 
Kaikoura is the first place in New Zealand, and the second in the world, to be Green Globe benchmarked, an international benchmarking and certification program developed for the travel industry in 1992. Kaikoura was eco-conscious before it became fashionable. In 1997, its council was the first in the country to employ an environment officer. In 1998, it became the second Zero Waste district in New Zealand, aiming for zero waste to landfill by 2015. So there's no kerbside rubbish collection in the town but there is a free weekly recycling pick-up, which includes kitchen scraps composted using council-supplied Bokashi buckets and a recycling depot that even processes electrical goods and wood. What set Kaikoura on this eco-path in the first place, however, was its unique location and the town's chief drawcard — its marine life. Not only is it flanked by the rugged Seaward Kaikoura mountain range but there is a deep underwater canyon less than one kilometre offshore, where plankton-rich water attracts marine creatures great and small from tiny krill to blue whales. (23 May 2009)

Ratting out the weasels 
Stoats, which were first introduced to New Zealand in the 19th century to combat the spread of the rabbit, have decimated the kiwi population reducing little spotted kiwi and Rowi or Okarito brown kiwi numbers to 1200 and 300 respectively. Recent surveys by the Department of Conservation found that kiwi populations are shrinking by 6 per cent a year. Unfortunately, stoats are very hard to catch. "The animals are so abundant and resilient that trapping has been abandoned as a control measure," reports The Australian. Instead, New Zealanders are resorting to breeding programs to protect kiwi. "Rowi are literally being brought back from the brink of extinction," Department of Conservation regional director James Livingstone said. 
(16 April 2009)

Coup for longevity 
A one-month old tuatara has been discovered at Wellington's Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Zealandia, the first baby tuatara to be seen on the mainland in two centuries. "We are all absolutely thrilled with this discovery," said the sanctuary's conservation manager Raewyn Empson. "It means we have successfully re-established a breeding population back on the mainland, which is a massive breakthrough for New Zealand conservation." Since 2005, 200 tuatara have been released at the Sanctuary to protect them from predators and give them a wider habitat and protection from global warming.
(19 March 2009)

Redback revival
Redback spider numbers are rising rapidly on the South Island as the New Zealand climate becomes warmer and drier. Scientists expect the trend to continue, and for the redback to spread as an increasingly large swath of the island becomes inhabitable. "They need decent warm periods in summer and they don't like high soil moisture," says spider expert Cor Vink. According to Vink, the spiders would be right at home anywhere in New Zealand where grapes are grown. Fortunately, no deaths have been reported from redback bites since the introduction of an anti-venom in 1956.
(24 February 2009)

Killer waves 
A New Zealand man spent one recent Saturday surfing alongside three orcas near a beach on the Taranaki coast, enjoying the perfect waves. Craig Hunter, who has been surfing off the North Island for more than forty years, was enjoying an evening along the Stent Road surf break, when he spotted one of the whales around 6:30. His response? "There was no way I was going in because the waves were too good," Hunter told the NZPA, adding that he was too old to be bothered by the prospect of an attack. "It sort of gets you going a little wee bit. But it's a really cool feeling," said Hunter. The whale spent about half an hour swimming around the area fishing, a few hundred meters out to sea. At one point he swam by Hunter before leaving. According to Hunter they come around a few times in the summer, but not as often as they used to. Photographer Jane Dove Juneau spotted three whales, while Mr. Hunter said he must have been "too busy" surfing to notice the others.
(12 January 2009)

Aiding an avian identity 
Though the battle to save New Zealand's famous national symbol the kiwi is "conceded unwinnable on some fronts"; the bird's existence is mounting with the help of Zealandia, Wellington's Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, which expects to count about 40 of the birds by the end of 2009. "The squat, flightless bird appears a bit like a cross between a hamster and an anteater, with fur-like plumage, a long, quill-like beak and a grumpy demeanour. But don't let its looks and ungainliness mislead you. This bird is to New Zealanders what the bald eagle is to Americans," writes the Houston Chronicle. "When we talk about the kiwi — that's our identity," says conservation manager at the Sanctuary Raewyn Empson. "When all of a sudden you're talking about kiwi becoming extinct in our lifetime, it's a bit scary really." The non-profit trust is trying to restore a square mile of river valley to its pre-human state. Empson is undaunted by the damage that needs undoing. "We've got a 500-year vision here," she says. "We're optimists."
(25 December 2008)

Bush's Pacific monument 
Large areas in the Pacific near New Zealand territory have been designated as American national monuments by outgoing U.S. President George Bush. The areas include the Mariana Trench and northern Mariana Islands, a chain of remote islands in the Central Pacific and American Samoa's Rose Atoll, near New Zealand's Tokelau Islands. A New York Times editorial explains: "Try this on a globe sometime, or Google Earth: Looking head-on at the planet, spin it until Hawaii is a little north and east of centre. What you'll see — besides the barest fringes of America and Asia up there, New Guinea and New Zealand down there, and lots of island dots - is all blue. This is the vast stage on which President Bush is trying to salvage his environmental legacy ... An environmental trophy was lying on the ground, and Mr Bush, with just days left in his presidency, simply picked it up." "The monuments will prohibit resource destruction or extraction, waste dumping and commercial fishing," Bush said. The White House claims the places are among the last pristine marine areas left on Earth. 
(6 January 2009)

Via the red route
Since its opening in 1995, Karori Wildlife Sanctuary – recently renamed Zealandia – has assisted in halting the continued demise of many native bird species, releasing 15 endangered species back into the wild, including one of the world’s rarest ducks, the brown teal. Covering only one square mile, protected by a unique 8.6km predator-proof fence and comprising a river, two dams and assorted woodland, in 1995 Karori contained only 12 different species of native birds. Numbers were low and the commonest were introduced species such as blackbirds, sparrows, thrushes, chaffinches and starlings. Now there are more than 30 bird and reptile species. Financial Times reporter Sandy Gall writes: “The success of the project was summed up by a young volunteer, who said the dawn chorus was now so loud that local residents were ringing the radio station to complain.”
(6 December 2008)

Better late than never 
For the first time in approximately two hundred years, a tuatara has been discovered nesting on the New Zealand mainland. The event happened at Wellington's Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, where four leathery, white eggs were discovered by staff during routine maintenance work. "The nest was uncovered by accident and is the first concrete proof we have that our tuatara are breeding," conservation manager Rouen Epson said. "It suggests that there may be other nests in the sanctuary we don't know of." Epson said if all goes well, juvenile tuatara could hatch any time between now and March. A population of 70 tuatara was established at the Karori Sanctuary in 2005. Another 130 were released in 2007. 
(31 October 2008)

Persistence in love
On Maud Island, evolutionary biologists from the University of Toronto have been studying the mating habits of giant male Cook Strait weta. Not only do males travel more than twice as far as females but small, long-legged individuals walked further, acquired more mates, and transferred more spermatophores to females. Biologist Clint Kelly said the findings are a rare example of sexual selection favouring traits that promote greater mobility in one sex only. "This is exciting because it suggests that sexual selection for smaller, more mobile males could be responsible for some of the impressive sexual difference in body size in this species," Kelly said. This phenomenon may also help to explain why males are smaller than females in some other animals. Male weta can walk over 90 m each night in search of a mate - roughly equivalent to a 7000 m outing by a human male. 
(5 September 2008)

Sea urchin reef concert
Auckland University marine biologists Craig Radford and Andrew Jeffs have discovered that sea urchins are behind loud noises emanating from underwater around New Zealand reefs. The 20- to 30-decibel sound is caused by the spiny sea creatures' teeth scraping on reefs as the hungry starfish relatives feed on algae and invertebrates. Radford said urchins had long been suspected of creating the din, but it took a series of experiments to confirm it. "We put some urchins in a tank and got them feeding on algae, then we recorded them. The noise they were producing caused spikes at certain frequencies," he said. Coastal noise of similar frequency and bandwidth has been recorded near the Bahamas; San Diego, California; and Australia. Chris Tindle, a physicist at the University of Auckland, said the urchins made more noise on dark nights around the new moon.
(18 August 2008)

Kiwi hatched in US

Bridging the gap 
On New Zealand's Chatham Islands researchers have discovered the country's oldest known bird fossils. The find represents four new seabirds dating back some 65 million years when New Zealand separated from supercontinent, Gondwana. Excavation leader Jeffrey Stilwell of Monash University in Australia said the discovery has implications for the origin of modern seabirds. "It's quite spectacular to have that many birds in one deposit," Stilwell said. "I don't know of any other site in New Zealand like it." In particular, he is hoping the new fossils can provide more evidence for land bridges between the Chatham Islands and mainland New Zealand. 
(22 February 2008)

Leader of the pack
Dunedin based production company, National History New Zealand, won two major awards at this year’s Beijing International Science Film Festival. The World’s Biggest Baddest Bugs and Spider Power took gold and silver respectively in the Nature and Environment category. “The challenge for NHNZ has always been to combine good stories and real science with broad appeal shows for a multi-country audience,” said NHNZ Managing Director Michael Stedman in Scoop. “I believe all these elements have all come together in Bugs and Spider Power. These shows have raised the bar considerably, both in style and content, in science and nature television.”
(22 November 2004)
  

Flax attack
After a brief 1960s hey-day, NZ flax (phormium) has returned as “the drama queen of trendy garden designs” in LA. According to TV horticulturist Maureen Gilmer, “Phormiums are the most exciting new plants to enter the American marketplace. They offer a rainbow of colour and exciting form all year without flowers. This quintessential plant of mid-century modern freeways is coming round again, this time with a whole new look and feel. Its size may have been civilized, but the colours have definitely gone wild.”
(12 April 2004)
  

An ill wind that blows some good?
“Wise environmental husbandry or flatulent political correctness? An ill wind or a fair wind?” Financial Times takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the proposed ‘fart tax’ to be levied on NZ dairy and sheep farmers. Methane produced by NZ livestock amounts to an estimated 55% of the country’s total greenhouse emissions. The tax would require farmers to pay an average of NZ$300 a year – an amount which could be avoided entirely by helping to fund global warming research.
(6 September 2003)
  

Burning down the house? 
NZ's early prosperity was said to have been borne on the sheep's back - now they're threatening to power us into the 21st Century: NZ's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has hit upon a novel way of powering our nation: the Authority proposes to use 120,000 of the 150,000 tonnes of animal fat produced by the meat industry a year as bio-diesel. Transport expert Elizabeth Yeaman claims that tallow is "very clean-burning, far more so than ordinary diesels," and the fact NZ already has the resource in abundance makes its use a financially desirable option. Meridien Energy is already looking at using the environmentally sound fuel to power the machinery needed for its $1.3 billion hydro-electric scheme.
(27 June 2003)
   

Evolutionary edge
Soil-analysis undertaken in a NZ cave has uncovered a rich and previously unknown evolutionary heritage. A team of scientists have found DNA traces of an extinct animal and from plants alive 3,000 years before the first human arrivals. The ancient Gondwanan biota isolated in NZ represents a unique evolutionary experiment, free to evolve in isolation from mammalian predators in response to complex geological and climatic history. Unravelling our amazing DNA is the speciality of Oxford-based palaeontologist Professor Alan Cooper, described as ‘Wellington's own Indiana Jones’,  who recently returned to NZ to lecture on our amazing evolutionary past.
(18 April 2003)
  

The big break-up
"Somewhere east of New Zealand, where Gondwana's break-up may have started some 130 million years ago, with New Zealand splitting from Australia, 'the last resources of mankind' could be awaiting discovery. So say a crew of German researchers, who will spend December analysing rock formations 4 kilometres under water near the Chatham Islands. 
(10 December 2002)
   

No dodo
New Scientist features the Kakapo's claw-back from the brink of extinction:
"What's green, nocturnal, looks like an owl, smells sweet and fruity, and makes strange noises from growls and "skrarks" to metallic "chings" and deep resonant booms? The answer is the kakapo, New Zealand's extraordinary giant parrot. Before people reached New Zealand a thousand years ago, there were millions of kakapo. By 1995, there were only 50 left. But this year the kakapo staged an astonishing comeback."
(1 June 2002)
                   

Kea Car-ha?
Judy Diamond and Alan B. Bond's spent hours at an Arthur's Pass rubbish dump working out the evolutionary significance of the kea: "Keas are giant mountain parrots, and they love cars, especially soft-tops. If you leave yours unattended [...] the keas will take it for a "joyride". They will pull off the wing mirrors, snap the aerial, let down the tyres, slit the roof, razor the seats, turn the electrics into spaghetti and then call their friends. Ornithologists call this play ..." How about the Kea as a national icon - better a smart, cheeky and ludic parrot eviscerating armchairs than a half-blind night Turkey with a long beak?! See Turi Park's open letter for debate on NZ visual culture.
(2002)
         

Greener than you think
University of Canterbury's Professor Denis Dutton (Arts and Letters Daily) reviews Bjorn Lomborg's controversial new book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, in the Washington Post: Dutton concludes that the "richly informative, lucid book" containing "bad news for Green ideologues" is the most significant work on the environment since the appearance of its polar opposite, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, in 1962.
(21 October 2001)
         

Clean as a whistle
New Zealand comes up smelling of roses, second equal behind Finland in the world anti-corruption rankings.
(1 July 2001)
       

Haka and the birds 
The origins of New Zealand's Ka Mate haka are traced and birds discovered by the Telegraph's Sue Attwood who travels to Kapiti Island, the composer Te Rauparaha's stronghold in the mid-1800s. Hunted by a rival tribe, Te Rauparaha took refuge in a kumera pit near Tongariro, south of Lake Taupo. A wife of the local chief, wearing a voluminous cloak, squatted over the pit until his pursuers had gone. Te Rauparaha then emerged from the pit performing the Ka Mate haka in celebration of his reprieve. Kapiti Island is New Zealand as it was a hundred years ago. There are only about 250 of takahe left in the world, but on Kapiti they graze like contented prehistoric chickens. There are also saddlebacks, stitchbirds, kaka, kokako, weka: the winding paths to the top of the island are thick with birds. Te Rauparaha died in 1849 and was buried at Otaki on the mainland. There's a rumour, though, that his remains were exhumed and taken across to Kapiti. Attwood asks Kapiti resident John Barrett if he knew where his grave was but he wouldn't say. "If I told you," Barrett said, "I'd have to kill you." 
(16 November 2009)

Parrot's love affair 
Sirocco the kakapo has caused a stir in cyber space after he was captured on camera mating with the head of a British zoologist. The footage, which has received more than half a million hits on YouTube, was part of a BBC Two programme, Last Chance to See, in which Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine travel the world in search of animals on the edge of extinction. Sirocco was hand reared and as a result is very relaxed with humans. He is used as an advocate for his species and has most recently been at Auckland Zoo where people could get up close and personal with him. But zoologist Carwadine got more personal with Sirocco than expected when he encountered him with Fry. Sirocco is one of only 124 kakapo in the world.
(8 October 2009)

Icy conundrum 
New Zealand is one of the dozen founding members of the Antarctic Treaty, along with the United States, Russia, Britain and others, and is among those leading the push for shipping regulation — particularly considering controls on cruise boats visiting the frozen continent — in order to reduce the growing threat of human and environmental disasters posed by exploding numbers of tourists. A proposal for a code to ensure ships plying the world's southernmost seas could withstand hitting an iceberg and other measures were discussed at a recent meeting in Wellington of more than 80 experts from signatories to the Antarctic Treaty, the international accord to oversee the region. Annual tourist numbers have grown from about 10,000 a decade ago to 45,000 last year. Head of Antarctic policy at New Zealand's foreign ministry Trevor Hughes said the sinking of the ice-strengthened Explorer was a wake-up call to Antarctic Treaty nations, and experts from all key members of the Antarctic Treaty now want a tough new code for shipping in Antarctica. "Without regulations, we are going to have a disaster where a lot of lives are lost and where oil spills out into the environment, and we see penguins being smothered and poisoned by fuel oil in their rookeries," Hughes told The Associated Press. 
(9 December 2009)

Ancient mystery solved 
The now extinct giant Haast's eagle ruled the skies over New Zealand 750 years ago attacking moa from mountain perches and capable of killing small children. Because of their large size — these eagles weighed up to 18 kg — some scientists believe they were scavengers rather than predators. But the new study showed that not only was Haast's eagle a fearsome predator, it also evolved over a relatively short period of time from a much smaller-bodied ancestor. Researchers Paul Scofield of the Canterbury Museum and Ken Ashwell of the University of New South Wales used computerised CT and CAT scans to reconstruct the size of the brain, eyes, ears and spinal cord of this ancient eagle. "This work is a great example of how rapidly evolving medical techniques and equipment can be used to solve ancient mysteries," Ashwell said. The study was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 
(11 September 2009)

Behind the foliage 
Dr Kevin Burns and a team of researchers from Victoria University of Wellington have discovered that New Zealand trees have evolved a camouflage defense mechanism to protect themselves from extinct giant birds. "Plants are attacked by a bewildering array of herbivores and in response they have evolved a variety of defences to deter predators such as thorns and noxious chemicals," said Burns. The team studied the leaves of the Araliaceae tree (P. crassifolius), which is a heteroblastic species native to New Zealand. This species goes through several strange colour transitions during the process from germination to maturity and the reason for these changes is now thought to be a defence strategy from an extinct predator, the moa. 
(25 July 2009)

Icy developments 
Victoria University glaciologist Dr Andrew Mackintosh has released findings of a study which shows that southern hemisphere glaciers evolve quite differently to those in the north. "Don't assume that warming will be uniform over the earth," Mackintosh says. Mackintosh says the advance and retreat of glaciers are a good indication of climate change. But, he says, there has been some concern that studies of glaciers to date have not been representative of global trends. Mackintosh and colleagues plotted the retreat and advance of glaciers in New Zealand over the past 11,500 years and compared it to data gathered from northern hemisphere moraines. He and colleagues found that overall, northern hemisphere glaciers grew until the end of what is known as the Little Ice Age in the 1800s, when they began to retreat. By contrast, southern hemisphere glaciers have on the whole been shrinking throughout the Holocene. 
(1 May 2009)

Moa meals uncovered 
University of Otago postgraduate Jamie Wood collects moa dung, or coprolites, which he finds on tip-offs from hunters who report findings of moa bones. Alan Cooper of the University of Adelaide, who specialises in ancient DNA and who co-wrote a paper on documenting the discovery of 1500 samples of moa faeces for the December issue of the Quaternary Science Review, performed DNA typing for Woods. "Jim Wood will meander around the outback of New Zealand looking for rocky areas with overhangs and scoop out the sheep poo and go through the dirt and very often come across coprolites," Cooper says. "The main thing is the extent of the poo. Pretty much everywhere we have looked for it, we have found it." As for the coprolite record in Australia, Cooper says: "Our leading hypothesis at the moment is that the termites have got it all." Cooper is eager to use Wood's proven sleuthing abilities to mount a more systematic search of likely sites in Australia. 
(15 April 2009)

Booming population 
The kakapo — star of a recent BBC documentary presented by British actor and raconteur Stephen Fry — is one of the world's most endangered birds the kakapo, but thanks to the Kakapo Recovery programme, is now numbering 100. Fry was part of a four-man television crew filming the parrot on Codfish Island in January as part of series Last Chance to See, which revisits a book on endangered species written by Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy author, Douglas Adams. "To some extent, the kakapo is one of evolution's most pitiable errors. On the other hand, there is something in their solemn loveliness. When I say kakapo are 'evolution's error', it's their complex mating rituals, inability to flee predators and general [sweet] dumbness," Fry wrote in his online blog from the island. Kakapo Recovery programme manager Deidre Vercoe said the trip had been a successful one for the crew, who witnessed the male kakapo "boom" — a sign the nocturnal parrot was ready to breed.
(17 March 2009)

Not so drowned continent 
Fossils of an 18 million year old ancestor to the tuatara have been found outside of Saint Bathans, Otago, filling a huge void in the fossil record, and casting doubt on a widely held theory that New Zealand was once completely submerged. Geologists think Zealandia, the large submerged continent that New Zealand is a part of, broke away from the ancient southern supercontinent Gondwana 80 million years ago, drifted across the Tasman Sea. For many years there has been fierce debate over whether or not New Zealand went under with the rest of Zealandia during the migration, and the origin of New Zealand's biota hinges on the answer. The new fossils support critics of the notion of submersion, substantially narrowing the window when animals and plants could have drifted over from Gowanda after New Zealand resurfaced. The tuatara is indigenous to New Zealand and is the only living member of the Sphenodontia family, dating back 200 million years. The fossil find also fills a 70 million year gap in the Sphenodontia fossil record.
(30 January 2009)

Henry's heyday 
A 111-year-old tuatara named Henry has successfully sewn his seed after over fifteen years in solitary confinement. Henry, who lives at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, was assumed over the hill and kept alone for many years after becoming aggressive towards other tuataras. In 2002 a tumor near his genitals was removed, and Henry's mood drastically improved. Recent playtime with fellow reptiles has proven remarkably successful, as mate Mildred hatched 11 little ones last March. "I went off the idea he was good for breeding," said Lindsay Hazley, the gallery curator, but after the surgery "he was no longer aggressive." Good news all around, as the endangered tuatara is one of earth's oldest creatures, dating back 225 million years, having descended independently from reptiles alongside dinosaurs. With only 50,000 tuataras left, all in New Zealand, Henry has his work cut out for him. Tuatara's live for up to 250 years, and Henry is expected to spend some quality time with museum-mate Lucy in April.
(26 January 2009)

Of life and death
Christchurch Press photographer John Kirk-Anderson’s image of a helicopter about to rescue Japanese climber Hideaki Nara, 51, from Mt Aoraki’s Empress Plateau, features in the SF Gate’s ‘Day in Pictures’. The caption reads: “Joy and sorrow at 12,000 feet: Kiyoshi Nara waits to be plucked from a ledge near the top of New Zealand’s Mount Cook after bad weather trapped the pair for a week. His companion, Kiyoshi Ikenouchi, 49, died only hours before the helicopter arrived.”
(5 December 2008)

Hawaiian hunt 
New Zealand hunting specialist Prohunt has been hired by The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii to help stem the destruction of the island's native forest by marauding wild pigs and goats. Prohunt is conducting research and demonstration projects on Conservancy preserves and other private lands on Maui, Kauai and Molokai. TNC decided to work with Prohunt because according to spokesperson Evelyn Wight, "we do not know of a local company that has all of the tools needed to run a project of this magnitude." Prohunt was established in 1994 and have also been involved in pest eradication on Great Barrier Island, Lord Howe Island, in the Galapagos and on Cocos Island in Costa Rica. 
(April 2008)

Antarctic oddities 
New Zealand scientists were part of a 50-day "voyage of discovery" through the Ross Sea recently, coming face-to-face with some truly odd creatures. The marine life encountered during the 2,000-mile voyage included, jellyfish with 12ft-long tentacles, giant sea snails and starfish the size of food platters. NIWA scientist Stu Hanchet was also surprised to find fields of 20-inch-tall lilies stretching hundreds of yards. "Some of these big meadows of sea lilies I don't think anybody has seen before." The survey was conducted as part of International Polar Year, a global programme aimed at achieving a better understanding of the land and sea environments of the Antarctic and Arctic and to monitor the effects of climate change in the regions.
(22 March 2008)

Power in numbers 
The New York Times reports on a multi-organisation effort to save NZ's national symbol from extinction. Founded in 1994, Operation Nest Egg is a combined effort by the Department of Conservation's Kiwi Recovery Program, non-profit group Save the Kiwi, and the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch. Together they have perfected the process of taking kiwi eggs from the wild, incubating and hatching them in a predator-free environment, and returning the birds to their original location once they are large enough to defend themselves. Operation Nest Egg has already had a profound effect on kiwi populations. "Because the rates of decline are relatively low at 2 to 5 percent, you don't have to add many birds back into the population to make it break even," says Save the Kiwi trustee John McLennan. Operation Nest Egg expects to hatch its one thousandth kiwi chick in early 2008. 
(28 December 2007)

Blast from the past
Ornithologists the world over have been fascinated by recent confirmed sightings of the NZ Storm Petrel, which was thought to have been extinct for more than a century. In November 2005 a NZ fisherman took the first ever photograph of a Storm Petrel in the hand, after the bird landed on his boat in the Hauraki Gulf. Storm Petrels are thought to be using Little Barrier Island or the nearby Mokohinau Islands as their breeding ground.
(17 February 2006)

Reaching new lows
A NZ ship has set a new world record for the southern-most point attained by water. The Spirit of Enderby, a polar research ship exploring NZ and Australia’s sub-Antarctic islands, reached a latitude of 78deg 40min and a longitude of 164deg 24min in Antarctica’s Bay of Whales.
(2 February 2005)
 

Poles apart, like minded
The NZ and Austrian governments have formally agreed to cooperate on the implementation of emission reduction projects, in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. “NZ’s pro-active, pro-business approach to climate change is good news for the economy and the environment,” said ministerial representative Pete Hodgson. “Participation in the Projects to Reduce Emissions program and this arrangement [with Austria] are innovative examples of how businesses can gain a real competitive advantage from tackling climate change.” The agreement was signed at the 10th meeting of the Conference to the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Buenos Aires.
(20 December 2004)
 

Tourist hot spot gets edged
NZ’s Marine Tourism Holdings is the latest company to set up shop at Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, offering daily tours to a 45m pontoon based at Knuckle Reef. The pontoon, which houses an interpretive centre and a waterslide, meets the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s strict environmental management plan, and has been developed over a period of three years.
(27 September 2004)
    

Edge eco-system
The unique bird-life native to NZ and its surrounding islands is the subject of major articles in the Japan and New York Times. The first, by a Japan-based natural historian, expresses wonder "that a handful of species have not only made it as visitors, but have set up home there, establishing longstanding populations," while the latter addresses the remarkable effort on the part of NZ scientists and citizens to prevent the extinction of national icons such as the yellow-eyed penguin and kiwi.
(19 February  2004)
   

One up for Moby
A landmark decision by the International Whaling Commission in Berlin is being hailed as a step in the right direction by "what was once a whaler's club." The 'Berlin Initiative' - proposed by 19 countries including NZ - calls for the creation of a conservation committee to oversee the protection and preservation of all marine mammals. Former PM Sir Geoffrey Palmer was in attendance as NZ's commissioner to the IWC.
(10 June 2003)
   

Napier goes ga-ga for gingko
Ron Massey, of Napier Council, thinks the city's onto an export winner after its successful growing of high-grade gingko trees. The Chinese herb is currently the trendiest pill to pop, supposedly offering dramatically increased energy and cognitive abilities. Massey: "Ginkgo is the highest-consumed herb in the world, and the fastest growing in terms of consumer demand. In China, there is gingko beer, tea and herbal pillows."
(18 April 2003)
   

Sir Ed on "knocking the bastard off"
Guardian interviews Sir Edmund Hillary in the lead up to the 50th anniversary of his Mt Everest ascent. "He talks about his experiences with the bluff modesty of a Boys' Own adventure hero […] Perhaps it is the wisdom of age, but there is no trace of self-aggrandisement or razzmatazz in Hillary. He speaks about his achievements with a phlegmatic honesty." The archetypal old-school pioneer, Hillary leads National Geographic's extensive issue on Everest. "I think a lot of people rather like the fact that I haven't just climbed mountains but also built schools, hospitals, and all the rest of it. So in a way I've given back to the people all the help they gave me on the mountain." And full face kings Ed and Tenzing grace Britain's Royal Mail 'Extreme Endeavors' stamp series. 
(13 March 2003)

Tweety 1, Sylvester 0
"[NZ] has built up something of a reputation for bringing endangered birds back from the brink of extinction," the kakapo being a prime example. Armed with electric blankets, video monitoring equipment, and over 100 volunteer nest-minders, NZ conservationists have helped the green parrots to swell their numbers by 40% in 2002. The kakapo breeding program is housed on two predator-free islands off the southern coast.
(17 September 2002)
     

Kaiwhekea Katiki-saurus
A new species of dinosaur has been discovered on a North Otago beach. The 70 million year old fossil is believed to be a type of plesiosaur - a giant, swimming reptile resembling "a snake threaded through the body of a turtle." The newly discovered version has been named Kaiwhekea Kaitiki by Otago University's Ewan Fordyce and Arthur Cruickshank from Leicester Museum. 
(5 June 2002)
         

Schuster, Stoppard, Sauvignon
The 1999 Montana Reserve Sauvignon Blanc ("my homage to Michael Schuster") is a current favorite of British women's-health guru Dr Miriam Stoppard. This New Zealand example is 'fresh and rich and slightly oaky with a really lovely colour.'
(15 July 2001)
             

Virulent varmints
LA Times reporter R.C. Paddock reports on possum war.
Pdf Copy
(25 May 2001)
             

Quicksilver Hebe
Plant New Zealand hebe for a "calming, understated and very grown-up" look.
(28 January 2001)
         

Coastal Edge
Victoria looks to follow New Zealand's lead on marine reserves, seen as a "back-up" for species conservation, and a way of replenishing fishing stocks. Prince Charles supports a similar idea in the Bay if Biscay.
(16 January 2001)
            

Investigating a colossus  
Te Papa's colossal squid, the largest ever caught, has created a worldwide media furore making headlines from South Africa and Germany, to Iran and Uruguay. Very little is known about colossal squid; only about 10 have ever been caught and brought to shore. This 495kg, 10-meter long female squid was caught in the Ross Sea last year, defrosted this week and then dissected in a delicate operation broadcast live on the museum's website. The squid's eyes are the size of soccer balls and visiting Swedish professor Eric Warrant says they measure about 30cm across. "These are without doubt the largest eyes that have ever been studied, and probably among the largest eyes that have existed during the history of the animal kingdom," Professor Warrant concluded. Once thawed and examined, the squid will be embalmed and preserved. 
(30 April 2008)

Leap for frogkind 
Thirteen tiny, and extremely rare, Maud Island froglets have been spotted at Wellington's Karori Wildlife Sanctuary hitching a ride on the back of a fully grown male. Researcher Kerri Lukis said the frogs have never before been seen breeding, even on their home islands of Maud and Motuara in the Malborough Sounds. "It's wonderful timing for the 2008 International Year of the Frog," Lukis said. Maud Island frogs are one of four native New Zealand frogs, and unlike other frogs, they do not croak, live in water or have webbed feet. They also hatch from an egg as opposed to going through the tadpole stage. 
(3 March 2008)

Godwits fly 
Every year, godwits fly from Alaska to New Zealand in an astonishing six days. A Seattle-based husband and wife team have been following the migratory patterns of the tiny bird and write about their findings in The Christian Science Monitor. The couple write that the first people to discover New Zealand owed much to godwits. "One legend has it that ancestors of the Maori, who were living on a nearby barrier island at the time, observed the annual southward passage of what they called the kuaka. They thought, surely all those birds aren't just circling the earth. Their outriggers, set sail, and found New Zealand." 
(28 February 2008)

World Environment Day in Wellington 
Wellington is to host World Environment Day 2008, the UN Environment Program has announced. The focus of next year's global celebrations will be encouraging countries, companies and communities to "Kick the habit" and make the transition to a low carbon economy and lifestyle. "New Zealand is among a pioneer group of countries committed to accelerating a transition to a low carbon and carbon-neutral economy," said UN Under-Secretary General Achim Steiner. "We are therefore delighted to be holding the main WED 2008 celebrations in Wellington and in communities across this South Pacific nation." World Environment Day was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 and is celebrated annually on June 5. 
(1 October 2007)

Hong Kong follows NZ's lead 
Hong Kong sees NZ as a role model for renewable energy and environmental technology, according to its government's website. "New Zealand is renowned for its high environmental standards and its use of new technologies to protect the environment," said Chief Executive Donald Tsang. "Hong Kong can learn much from New Zealand's record in this regard and that also translates to business opportunities for New Zealand companies in our city and elsewhere in Asia." Tsang was recently in NZ, where he visited a state-of-the-art water treatment facility in Auckland. 
(12 September 2007)

Green choice for NZ motorists 
NZ has launched its first commercial biofuel - Gull Force 10. Available through Gull Petroleum stations, the "green" fuel blends 90 per cent premium gasoline with 10 per cent bioethanol made from cows' milk. "We are serious about providing motorists with real choice and leading the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions," said PM Helen Clark at the biofuel's Auckland launch. Gull is a family-owned business with 30 petrol stations in the North Island. Gull commissioned NZ dairy giant Fonterra to produce bioethanol for its Gull Force 10 blend in 2004. 
(1 August 2007)

NZ scientists solve pigeon puzzle
Scientists at Auckland University have solved the enduring mystery of homing pigeons. "We are now confident that pigeons ... use the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field to determine position during homing," said Dr Todd Dennis, who led the research. Dennis and his team released homing pigeons in an area of NZ where the Earth's magnetic field is naturally distorted, known as the Auckland Junction Magnetic Anomaly. They predicted that, if the intensity of the magnetic field influenced the birds' ability to position themselves, they would be confused by the anomaly upon release. Proving the team's theory, the birds flew up to four kilometres in the wrong direction before redirecting themselves towards their loft. The study has since been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society journal. 
(14 February 2007)

Let them wear possum 
The Independent reports on NZ's thriving (and environmentally kosher) possum fur trade. "Elsewhere, designers who work with fur earn the wrath of animal rights activists. But in New Zealand, they are considered national heroes." Imported from Australia in 1837, the brush-tailed possum population has now reached approximately 70 million. Attempts to eradicate the pest range from the aggressive (DoC-sanctioned 1080 drops) to the whimsical (possum fur bikinis). "I wouldn't work with anything endangered, it would be against my conscience," says Teresa Angliss of fashion brand Possum New Zealand. "But this is a national pest, so it's really appealing. I'm exploiting a commercial demand to help contain an environmental disaster." 
(29 December 2006)

Prime coverage at Chelsea 
The 100% NZ Garden won a silver medal at the gardening world's most prestigious annual event - the Chelsea Garden Show. The garden was inspired by the West Coast of Auckland, and features a black sand beach framed by native rainforest, reminiscent of designer Xanthe White's childhood holidays in the Waitakere Ranges. White documented the lead up to the show in an online diary for the BBC, which received 1.5 million hits in its first week. The 100% NZ Garden will soon be featured on BBC1 and Australia's Better Homes & Gardens, and in magazines Gardens Illustrated (UK), the Garden Magazine (UK) and Eden (Germany). 
(24 May 2006)

Karate vs. Kea 
Organisers of a vintage car rally near Mt Cook took an unusual defensive stance against marauding local kea, which are notorious for damaging cars in alpine areas. The car club hired 40 karate practitioners to protect the precious vehicles, insisting that the birds would not be hurt but rather "scared away." 
(4 February 2006)

Up the Nile in 80 days 
Two New Zealanders and a Briton have redrawn the map of Africa by following the Nile River to its true source - something no explorer in history has managed before. Lake Victoria was generally believed to be the Nile's starting point but according to Neil McGrigor, Cam McLeay and Garth MacIntyre the real source is located deep in Rwanda's Nyungwe Forest. This makes the Nile at least 107km longer and far more winding than previously thought. The 'Ascend the Nile' adventurers covered 6,700km in 80 days, in a mission fraught with danger. The initial attempt was called off after the team's driver, former British diplomat Steve Willis, was shot and killed in an attack by Ugandan rebels. The rest of the team battled tropical disease, hippos, gigantic crocodiles and raging rapids to complete the journey. "Of all countries, [Rwanda] has been one of the most incredible," says MacIntyre. "Wherever you go, [people] appear: from banana plantations, sitting up trees, alongside us on canoes. And if we can help to put their country on the map, and to persuade people to come here, and to see what we believe to be the real source of the Nile … then it'll be a great achievement." 
(31 March 2006)

The real Big Bird
Joint research by Oxford (UK) and Canterbury (NZ) Universities has uncovered startling new facts about NZ’s native Haast’s eagle. With a weight of 10kg, the Haast’s eagle was 30-40% heavier than the largest living bird of prey alive today, the Latin American harpy eagle, and is the only eagle ever to have been top predator in a major terrestrial ecosystem. Most interesting of all, the Haast’s eagle is descended from a tiny Australian eagle – not the large Australian wedge-tail, as previously thought – meaning it must have increased its weight 10 to 15 times in a period of less than a million years, an unprecedented speed in evolutionary terms.
(5 January 2005)
     

Five dollar bird
Hohio (yellow-eyed penguins, literally noise-shouters) catch the attention of an international money man.
(20 May 2001)

Kiwi whispering on Stewart Island
The New York Times experiences the thrill of the chase in Kiwi country. "I realised I had been holding my breath, so I exhaled. The whole experience had lasted less than five minutes, but it had made the whole trip worthwhile. "I'm so happy we saw his little face!" Kiwi Wilderness Walks takes Ryan J. Donmoyer on a long hike to the lair of an elusive bird.
(18 June 2000)