By Riley Schwengel
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| An Australian Possum: An Invasive Predator in NZ Credit: Brisbane City Council |
New
Zealand’s natural environment has a stellar reputation. Thanks to its starring roles in movies like
“The Lord of the Rings” and "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" when people think of the
Pacific island nation, they think of crisp alpine mountains, breathtaking
waterfalls, and forests that look untouched by the ever encroaching shadow of
modernity. However, despite what
Hollywood blockbusters and instagram photos would have you believe, New
Zealand’s environment is under constant siege.
Before both
Europeans and Polynesians arrived on the two main islands that make up the
country of New Zealand, or Aoteroa depending on who your ancestors are, they
were evolutionarily isolated from all other landmasses for 50 million
years. The result of this isolation is a
unique but fragile ecosystem. Exploration, colonization, and globalization have effectively ended New
Zealand’s isolation and the fragile ecosystem that it holds is under attack from a bevy of
invasive species. According to the
Predator-Free New Zealand Trust: 81% of native New Zealand birds, 88% of native
reptiles, and 72% of freshwater fish are endangered. That’s a staggering statistic, especially
when you consider that only 30% of U.S. bird species are considered endangered,
20% of the world’s reptiles are endangered, and a 40% of U.S. freshwater fish
are endangered.
