E is for Extinct

The most notable aspect of New Zealand for me is the silence of the forests.  Where once a myriad of bird life coexisted to fill every ecological niche in New Zealand’s varied habitats, only a few remain.  Many of the native species have become extinct since humans arrived here 900 years ago.  What native species persist are largely outnumbered and displaced by introduced pests such as sparrows and starlings.  Gone are the largest eagles ever known with a wing span of 3 meters and weighing up to 15 kilograms.  Gone are the eleven species of flightless moa, ranging from small chicken size to nearly 4 metres tall.  In fact New Zealand has lost over 47% of its bird species since humans arrived.  Given that there were no mammals in NZ prior to this apart from a few species of small bats and coastal sea lions, this is still almost half of all terrestrial vertebrates that existed around 1400 AD when it is thought the first wave of humans arrived.  The damage has been done through overhunting, land clearing, swamp draining and feral animals. The few remote areas which have remained less affected give glimpses of what may once have been an aural symphony of music filling the now silent theatres.