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The Puzzle of Pilot Whales
Only 100 pilot whales survived after a large pod of 416 stranded on Farewell Spit last night. It is one of the country's largest mass strandings. The whales strand on our shores in greater numbers than any other species of whale. Why?
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#WeekendRead
Like many other native groups, New Zealand butterflies are highly endemic, which is to say that more than 95 per cent of them are found nowhere else; one of the highest rates of endemism in the world. In a typical Australian garden, you might have 25 species of butterfly; in New Zealand, you might get the odd copper or blue butterfly on the lawn, but they’re not occurring in the suburbs the way they should be. Their absence is only one of many mysteries.
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The Constant Gardener
Ant-plant relationships are common, but the dynamic between this particular ant and plant are unique—they are both dependent on each other for survival. A Fijian ant cultivates its own garden, and can’t survive without it.
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The Canterbury 'Black Panther'
Like the Yeti of the Himalaya and Scotland’s famed Loch Ness monster, New Zealand also has a cast of unlikely creatures. There are many cases worldwide of peripatetic felines that crytozoologists have come up with an acronym. ‘ABCs’, or alien big cats. Do they really exist?
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#SundayDoco
In 1995, Dreamworld in Australia’s Gold Coast, acquired six captive-bred Bengal tiger cubs from California and set them up in a large, open public display area, ‘Tiger Island’, modelled on a similar facility in San Francisco, USA. Experience tigers in a completely new way as four cubs grow up to become part of a rare kind of family at Australian’s Dreamworld. Check out this week's Sunday doco—Awesome Pawsome
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NZGeoRadio
NASA’S FLYING LABORATORY TOUCHES DOWN
NASA’s flying laboratory, which is conducting a worldwide survey of the earth’s atmosphere, has touched down in Christchurch for a second season.
Researchers onboard NASA’s DC-8 aircraft have been flying across the globe on a 28 day journey, gathering data in the air to better understand climate change and air pollution.
NZ’S UNIQUE FLORA AND FAUNA
Kathryn Ryan talks to Entomologist, George Gibbs about the revised edition of his award winning book, Ghosts of Gondwana. His research has looked into why New Zealand plants and animals are so different to other countries.
Listen to the 30-minutes programme on nzgeo.com
EXTREME WEATHER PUTS ‘HUGE STRESS’ ON WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Extreme weather due to climate change is going to put more pressure on drinking water infrastructure, leading to more boil notices and e-coli scares. A boil notice was issued on 3 February, but was revoked during the weekend.
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