Threats and impacts

The naturalist aboard Captain Cook's ship, described New Zealand's birdsong as 'deafening' when they arrived here in the 1700s. 

Since then, waves of colonists have brought all variety of introduced animals and plants, such as possums, deer, stoats, rats and weasels. Someone even brought a zebra!

These animals and plants have taken over our forests. They have almost silenced the birdsong that once rang so loud. 

If we're going to save the thousands of species that call New Zealand home, we need to understand the animals and plants that threaten them, and the future threats that lie ahead.