Our forgotten endangered species

New Zealand has one of the highest rates of native species decline on the planet. With more than 900 of them approaching extinction, Ged Cann looks at why Kiwis don’t seem worried.

Seventy per cent of the public feels the state of our native plants, animals and fish is adequate or doing well, according to Lincoln University.

But the co-author of the research and environmental economist Ross Cullen, described the perception as ‘‘totally wrong’’.

Cullen believed the misunderstanding likely boiled down to a focus on a dozen or so ‘‘charismatic species’’ - the tui and kiwi of the world - where conservation efforts are concentrated and which are heavily covered by media.

‘‘They read stories in the paper about another kaka chick saved or another sanctuary that has opened, and they seem to take that as information that the general state of our biodiversity is safe – it’s not.

‘‘We have 2800 species on the threatened and endangered species list. We have some of the highest proportion of threatened or endangered species than just about anywhere else in the world.’’

‘‘We have got about 90,000 species in total, only about 50,000 have been named, classified, etc.’’ Cullen said this made New Zealand one of the worst on the planet for endangered animals.

While Cullen applauded volunteer groups, charities and the government for their efforts to turn the tide, it was only succeeding in ‘‘bits and pieces’’, and too often only for a small number of targeted species. Environment Minister Nick Smith said: ‘‘There are some differences between New Zealanders’ perceptions of our environment and the reality.’’

Forest & Bird chief executive Kevin Hague said dispelling the myth that New Zealand was protecting its biodiversity was one of the organisation’s biggest challenges..

‘‘If very few people vote on [an environmental] basis, political parties don’t have to make commitments,’’ he said.

Forest & Bird shines the spotlight on six forgotten species: Duvaucel’s gecko is our largest gecko, growing up to 30cm. Despite once being widespread, introduced mammals have drastically reduced their numbers. ‘‘They now survive on a range of off-shore islands including in Cook Strait,’’ Geary says. Duvaucel’s were reintroduced to the mainland at the end of 2016 when 80 animals were released. Whitebait is the juvenile form of five different native freshwater fish species. Four of the five species are in decline due to habitat loss, degraded waterways and pressures from commercial and recreational harvesting. ‘‘The only one that isn’t – banded kokopu – is declining according to anecdotal reports,’’ Geary says. Long-tailed bats alongside short-tailed bats are the only two remaining New Zealand species, with the third, the greater short-tailed bat, already extinct. ‘‘Long-tailed bats are predated on by rats, stoats and cats. Because they roost in old trees, they are losing their habitat due to clearance of forest remnants in places like South Canterbury,’’ Miller says.

Black-billed gulls are the most threatened gull species in the world, classified as nationally critical in 2013. The population is thought to have dropped 75 per cent in 30 years. ‘‘We want to see better protection and pest control on their braided river habitat, which is becoming degraded due to commercial pressures,’’ Forest and Bird canterbury regional manager Jen Miller says.

Hutton’s Shearwater seabirds only breed in Kaikoura and can sometimes be seen around Cook Strait. The Hutton’s Shearwater Charitable Trust estimates between 20 and 40 per cent of burrows were lost in the November earthquake. ’’However, we’ve heard less about them than the impacts on fur seals and whales,’’ Forest and Bird spokeswoman Amelia Geary says.

North Island weka was once widespread, but now the only natural population exists in the hills between Opotiki and Motu. ’’They have been reintroduced to a small handful of other sites including offshore islands, but they occupy a tricky conservation niche as they can prey on other native species, making relocations problematic,’’ Geary says.