Most New Zealanders will easily recognise and identify our unique wildlife - whether it's a tree weta, common dolphin or a kiwi. We know quite a lot about them - how and where they live, what they do, what they eat and so on. But what makes them tick? What does an insect's eye actually see? Does an earthworm have 'guts'? Does the flightless kiwi have any wings under all those feathers? Author and illustrator Dave Gunson delves deep inside some of our best-known species to see what's really going on in there, and to find out just how our native creatures work!
A fully illustrated photographic field guide to New Zealand wildlife. New Zealand is a popular tourist destination with a wide range of dramatic scenery and a long list of endemic species. Although the country's wildlife has suffered as a result of unwelcome introductions, most species have managed to survive thanks to a number of dedicated and inspired conservationists. This glorious photographic field guide illustrates most of the vertebrate species to be found there, as well as a large number of typical invertebrates and flora. The photographs are accompanied by a succinct text, and this portable guide will be invaluable to all visitors to the country with an interest in natural history.
The Handbook of New Zealand Mammals is the only definitive reference on all the land-breeding mammals recorded in the New Zealand region (including the New Zealand sector of Antarctica). It lists 65 species, including native and exotic, wild and feral, living and extinct, residents, vagrants and failed introductions. It describes their history, biology and ecology, and brings together comprehensive and detailed information gathered from widely scattered or previously unpublished sources. The description of each species is arranged under standardised headings for easy reference. Because the only native land-breeding mammals in New Zealand are bats and seals, the great majority of the modern mammal fauna comprises introduced species, whose arrival has had profound effects both for themselves and for the native fauna and flora. The book details changes in numbers and distribution for the native species, and for the arrivals it summarises changes in habitat, diet, numbers and size in comparison with their ancestral stocks, and some of the problems they present to resource managers. For this third edition, the text and references have been completely updated and reorganised into Family chapters. The colour section includes 14 pages of artwork showing all the species described and their main variations, plus two pages of maps.
BLACK AND WHITE EDITION - Not the standard romantic wilderness survival tale, but a very honest, warts and all account of one young man's unique journey, striving to survive for seven years in a very remote rainforest location inside New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, three days walk away from the nearest road end. Away from all the modern conveniences and comforts most take for granted, his tale is one of adversity, building a dream with dogged determination. Battling against considerable and powerful opposition, bureaucracy, severe lack of money, unforgiving nature, loneliness and ultimately his own ill health; only to find the dream fulfilled will almost destroy him. A sometimes spiritual and critical tale of self-discovery where ultimately his growing faith in God literally saves him from a very sorry end in the mountainous wilderness of New Zealand. A story that exposes wilderness living as it truly is, not for the faint hearted. However, Out of the Wild is more than just a candid wilderness survival tale, but includes some very interesting snippets of New Zealand's early pioneer history associated to the Fiordland National Park, the Hollyford Valley, Martins Bay, the beautiful deserted ghost town of Jamestown Bay and even the fabled "lost ruby mine" in the inaccessible Red Hills. For the outdoor and "back to basics" enthusiasts Charlie details his accounts of hunting red deer in the thick Fiordland rainforest around his wilderness home to using the old traditional methods to store his kills, through to trapping introduced predators destroying the special rainforest ecosystems of Fiordland. "Out of the Wild" is a very unique New Zealand wilderness tale.
To survive in the wild, all animals need a natural form of defence against predators. Using their teeth, claws, horns and antlers to defend, fight and hunt, these incredibly powerful creatures do whatever it takes to stay alive. Join twelve-year-old author James Ryan as he shares a bunch of surprising, cool and occasionally gross facts with us about some of nature's most awesome animals and their built-in weapons.
Dolphins of Aotearoa explores the ongoing relationship between humans and dolphins in New Zealand. Over this nation's rich history, numerous people, both Maori and Pakeha, have sought out dolphins and significant numbers of dolphins have sought out people. For many, encountering dolphins has been a profound and life-changing experience. This book tells the stories of many of these remarkable encounters, featuring all of the famous dolphins, such as Pelorus Jack from the early years of the 20th century, Opo in the 1950s, Maui and more recently Moko. In addition it chronicles the ultimately doomed attempts to keep dolphins in captivity in facilities such as Marineland in Napier. Importantly, Dolphins of Aotearoa also summarises the work of the dedicated scientists and researchers who over recent decades have learnt so much about our dolphins, and whose research has given great impetus to the conservation of these remarkable creatures.Extensively researched and lavishly illustrated with historic and contemporary photographs, and incorporating a guide to all of the dolphins of New Zealand, this is an important and much needed addition to the literature about New Zealand's marine world. It will have huge appeal.
