Some, like clownfish, swap when there’s a gap in the social order. Others switch when they get to a certain size, when they’re looking for a mate, when the weather is hot, when the environment is ...

For a long time it was a good place to be an endangered skink—a vertical sheet of rock at the head of Milford Sound/Piopiotahi, too snowy and steep for mice to bother with. But as the climate warms, ...

Bruce “Chopper” Reay has lived in a remote deerstalkers’ hut on the edge of Fiordland National Park for most of his life. But he’s not exactly off the grid. If you didn’t know better, Bruce Reay and ...

Between 6–10 metres of rain falls in Fiordland each year. An incredible amount. It’s part of what powers the forest-to-fiord carbon storage pump that makes Fiordland exceptionally good at locking away ...

Kina numbers have exploded as we’ve eaten too many of their predators – like big snapper and crayfish – that usually keep them in check. The urchins munch through kelp and seaweed, leaving bare rock ...

Hundreds of snapper are floating in the sea off Auckland, and are washing up dead or dying on beaches off the Hauraki Gulf. Fisheries New Zealand is warning the public not to eat the fish “for safety ...

More than 50,000 people gathered at Waitangi on February 6, 2024—one of the largest attendances on record. What brought them? Driving south on State Highway 1 in the middle of the night, the crescent ...

The release of Disney’s Moana in te reo was a landmark for Māori language revitalisation. As that rebirth gathers steam, mita, or dialects are returning to the fore. When The Lion King Reo Māori hit ...

The market—and human appetite—are often to blame for ecosystem destruction. But in the case of kina barrens, they might be part of the solution. Kina fisherman Peter Herbert, universally known as Herb ...

Diseases can take a huge toll on wild animals and hasten rare species towards extinction. In New Zealand, scientists, vets and conservation volunteers are teaming up to try to beat the viruses, ...

Judges have selected 69 images from more than 6000 entries that tell the story of an exceptional year in Aotearoa. Select five of your favourites to vote in the Ockham Residential People’s Choice ...

Six parrot species are set to be banned in the Auckland region due to the dangers they pose to native wildlife. Is this fair? The bird watches me with an inquisitive eye. She’s huge, nearly a metre ...