What would the beach be without red-billed gulls? We may be about to find out. Two huge colonies have already gone under and the next biggest, in Kaikōura, is failing fast. In December 2023, ...

A symphony is taking place beneath the waves, as many different animals call to each other, scare off predators, stun their prey, or munch on algae. What happens when humans drown them out? Boing, ...

Most manta encounters take place in the area north of Te Hauturu-o-Toi/Little Barrier Island, but their ways are still a mystery, says Lydia Green, who coordinates a database of public manta ray ...

Our towns and cities are lacking something important, and I was reminded of this during a recent visit to Hong Kong. There, senior citizens fill the social niche that teenagers do in Auckland. They ...

One corner of the town of Feilding is a vast expanse of sheep and cattle yards that fills up with livestock twice a week. And the locals wouldn’t have it any other way. The saleyards, which are among ...

Feijoas have become a New Zealand emblem. So how did they end up in Aotearoa, and how did we end up adoring them—to the point of obsession, for some—when feijoas have not really caught on anywhere ...

Sea lions are coming home to the coasts of southern New Zealand, returning to their former territory after more than 300 years in exile. The big question is: Can we make room for them? A curious New ...

Here we are—a nation of parents, grandparents and children all in the same boat, together at home. He waka eke noa. Every day of the lock-down we will post a story or video and set of activities that ...

The Mokohinau stag beetle is one of the world’s most endangered species, occupying less than an acre of scrub on a rocky tower in the middle of the ocean. Its habitat is so precarious that Auckland ...

Our native birds aren’t as stupid as we thought they were, at least not all of them. As you will know, New Zealand’s fauna, evolving in the absence of mammals, developed a cer­tain complacency; ...

One of the world’s smallest nations is transforming its economy from subsistence to sustainability. Will Niue’s brave new plan work? Each year between August and October, humpbacks rest in the calm ...

If a root is above ground, how can it take in water? The Lord Howe pandan has evolved a solution: it has developed grooves that function like aqueducts, according to Victoria University researcher ...