In case you haven't been watching the excellent series 'Last Chance to See' on BBC2 with Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine, now is the time to start, with Sunday's episode (4 October) seeing the pair travel to New Zealand in search of the kakapo - a 'fat', flightless parrot that is also the rarest in the world.
'Last Chance to See' was inspired by the BBC radio series of 20 years ago when author Douglas Adams travelled with Mark Carwardine around the world in search of endangered and rare animals. This included the portly kakapo, which two decades on retains the lead role, though the 2009 programme also gives the chance for several other species of New Zealand's native wildlife to shine, such as...
... the lizard-like tuatara, actually a prehistoric reptile that is unique to New Zealand and can be found in Zealandia: The Karori Sanctuary Experience in Wellington. Then there's the kaka, another native parrot that also resides in this unique urban sanctuary and as the programme reveals is anything but shy. As you'd expect kiwi are encountered by the pair near Whangarei in the far north together with takehe (you got it - a flightless bird) while its in the far south near Stewart Island that the encounter with kakapo occurs.
The considerable efforts of New Zealand's many conservation projects should mean it isn't the last chance to see these many of these curious creatures all of which are thoroughly engaging and feature on our nature tour New Zealand's 'Small Five'.
By the way, if you're reading this post after the event, don't forget you can watch the entire series, paying particular attention to the New Zealand episode of course, on BBC iplayer.
Comments