Notes

Summary: In the long distant past New Zealand was part of the giant super-continent of Gondwana. When this huge land mass broke up, New Zealand was attached to Australia and Antarctica but later drifted apart from them. As a free agent in the South Pacific, New Zealand's unique birds, fish, small reptiles, insects and plants developed and changed over time. This book tells how the country's biodiversity (living things) unfolded. Its balanced account shows that in a world without humans natural forces such as mountain building, volcanoes and ice ages created massive survival challenges although birds like the moa and Haast's eagle came through as did much of the forest environment. However, huge changes in the eco-system were brought about first by the early Polynesian settlers and later by the Europeans who started arriving in the early 19th century. The moa, other birds and large areas of forest were doomed in the first wave. Then the European settlers introduced many new animals and plants which transformed the country's biodiversity and landscape. Later chapters look at the unnecessary attempts by governments and organisations to use poisons for pest control and a superficially attractive but deeply flawed "predator-free" campaign to restore the biodiversity that existed before humans arrived. The authors point out that there are better ways of managing New Zealand's unique blend of native and exotic fauna and flora. (Book cover)