mt maungatautari ecological reserve fauna of New Zealand

[kiwiorchids]

Last week we went to the mt maungatautari ecological reserve, in the pouring rain, and i got these really neat pics of some of NZ unique native fauna.
in order,

KIWI

TUATARA

WOOD PIGEON

TUI

[kiwiorchids]

FYI, the tuatara is the last remaining species of its family-Sphenodontidae.
Also, the Maori name TUATARA means 'peaks on the back'.
Also it is estimated that there are only 30,000 kiwis left in the wild.

[walingwaling]

some nice shots there!
lets hope none of these facing extinction!

[orchid-man]

The Kiwi and the Tuatara are both in breeding programs as they are both endangered.

[pavel]

Nice pics, Jordan. I saw kiwis in a zoo once. They were large than I expected them to be. Man's introduction of rats, cats and dogs has played hell with both the tuatara and kiwi populations from what I understand. Similar issues have occurred on a number of islands worldwide such as the Hawaiian islands.

Tuataras are, IMO, fascinating herps. For anyone who might like to see just a bit more info, here's a link: New Zealand Natural History Guide Book - The Tuatara

[delilah]

Great pictures! Those wood pigeons look spiffy in those dazzlingly white vests, but a little more camo might be safer..
Love the Tui- both its name and its looks.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Great shots, Jordan. Thanks for posting these!!

Cheers,
BD

[kiwiorchids]

thanks guys and in all murrays superior wisdom, he is indeed right about the endangered-ness of the kiwi and tuatara. There is a little story that goes along with the tuis name and looks, and the kokako-will post my less than satisfactory pic from Karori in wellington- name and looks, but will post that later
@pavel-where did you see the kiwi? In NZ or U.S?
and @ gita-yes the do look spiffy in their vests =) and the Maori people used to hunt them like they did the Moa. (and the moriori! lol)

[kiwiorchids]

now for that story kids!

In one such story, The kokako supplied water to Maui while he fought the sun, by filling its plump wattles with water and filling mauis mouth to quench his thirst. In return, Maui streatched the Kokakos legs to make them lean, strong and long so he could jump from branch to branch in the forest.

There is also another story about the Kokako, where he was a very drab bird. To make himself look wonderful and make the other forest birds jealous of him, he stole certain things from them while they were sleeping. From the Tui, he stole the beautiful white througt feathers, from the fantail he stole its fan-tail, and from the saddle back he stole its red saddle.
Tane Mahuta, the god of the forest was so angry, he returned all the stolen 'goods' and gave the kokako a robbers mask.
and dont ask me where the blue wattles came from please lol.

FYI, i decided my picture of the kokako was crap, so i just downloaded some images from the net.

[harvey]

thank you, Jordan.

The Kiwis are fascinating birds. I saw them once, in the Frankfurt- Zoo here in D.