We spent a week a few weeks in New Zealand where I learned about a pernicious invasive species: Lord of the Rings Film Locations.
Tag: wellington
Te Papa Museum in Wellington had this amazing display that contained all the base species considered native to NZ. . . sort of a New Zealand starter kit.
With the exception of bats, there are no mammals in the display. So in this primordial version of Aotearoa (some imaginary pristine NATURE that only exists in a Kiwi’s brain), mammals don’t exist. Hence any critter that stowed away and slipped onto the island (with the exception of cattle, sheep, and a few tolerable pets, of course), are considered invasive. Stouts, ferrets, possums, rats, bunnies, etc. are public enemy number one. They must be eradicated.
Just outside Wellington is an eco sancturary called Zealandia where you can see what the north island looked like before the settlers came, burned down the forest, and turned it into a giant sheep pasture. Pretty epic. And lots of amazing birds.