What is Animals of New Zealand?
[[File:Karuwai at August 2005 Health Check.JPG|right|thumb|The flightless [[kiwi]] is a national symbol of New Zealand]] The '''animals of [[New Zealand]]''' have an unusual history. The main thing to know is that the islands were part of [[Gondwana]], from which they separated 84 million years (mya) ago. New Zealand has some animals and plants which survive from that time, and birds which flew there much later.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Oliver|date=2020-10-21|title=8 Most Dangerous Animals in New Zealand: Top Deadly Killers|url=https://www.journeyingtheglobe.com/most-dangerous-animals-in-new-zealand/|access-date=2021-09-06|website=Journeying The Globe|language=en-gb|archive-date=2021-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906103922/https://www.journeyingtheglobe.com/most-dangerous-animals-in-new-zealand/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The islands are well known for their terrestrial birds, some of which were large species (the [[moas]]). For millions of years the islands did not have any native mammalian carnivores, and the moas' only predators were other birds, such as the giant [[Haast's eagle]]. ==History== [[Human]]s arrived in New Zealand less than 1,300 years ago.<ref> [https://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19826595.200-rat-remains-help-date-new-zealands-colonisation.html New Scientist Webpage: Rat remains help date New Zealand's colonisation]. Accessed 2008-06-23</ref> At that time the country's only mammals were bats (which flew there), and [[Pinniped|pinnipeds]] and [[sea lion|sea lions]] (which swam there). This meant that all the [[ecological niche]]s occupied by mammals in other lands were occupied in New Zealand by either insects or birds. Because of this, the country has an unusually large number of [[Bird#Flightless birds|flightless bird]]s, of which only the [[kiwi]], and the [[kakapo]] survive. Because of the lack of [[predator]]s, even the bats spend most of their time on the ground. There are also about 60 species of [[lizard]] (30 of [[gecko]] and 30 of [[skink]]), and four sp