Are there any botflies in New Zealand?
I went on tvtropes and on the body horror page they mention in the real life section about human botflies, now from what i understand they leave their eggs around and a mosquito carries them and transfers them over to a person. This has left me kind of paranoid, I lay awake at night sometimes wondering if there are any where i live, by the way I live in New Zealand. I know botflies come from lots of different parts of the world but are there any ones in New Zealand or any parasitic insects similar to them?
Are there Crocodiles/Alligators in New Zealand?
I want to move to New Zealand but I am terrified of crocodiles and alligators. I know they are in Australia, which is why I ruled it out. Are there any in New Zealand?
Why are there no crows in New Zealand?
New Zealand has been isolated from the other parts of the world for a long time. The frogs found on the islands are known as leiopelmatids, and they are related to the North American tailed frog. They are among the world's most primitive frogs. Everywhere else but western North America and New Zealand, the relatives of these primitive frogs have largely been replaced by more advanced frogs. For example, Australia has a large number of treefrogs, but no leiopelmatid frogs. New Zealand also has no native lizards, only the tuatara. THe tuatara is not a lizard, but a close relative of the lizards. The tuatara is the sole surviving members of a once widespread group of reptiles known as rhynchocephalians. The tuatara does not have a penis, but lizards have a pair of copulatory organs known as hemipenis. Even though New Zealand has currently drifted quite close to Australia, it was much farther away in the past. Therefore many species of birds that have evolved on other continents, including Australia, have not been able to reach New Zealand. If you look at a map, New Zealand does not seem all that far away from Australia, but few birds would normally fly into the open ocean, without any assurance that there will not only be land but land that will have the food that it eats. Birds do not often conquer new habitats, especially across bodies of water, because they have a fear of flying, but because they have a fear of the unknown. New Zealand does have a number of introduced birds, including the Australian Magpie, but no one has introduced crows to the islands.
Are there crocodiles in New Zealand?
No! Thank Goodness New Zealand only has a few reptiles, the most prehistoric is the Tuatara, about one foot in length and quite rare and quiet. I held a baby one on my hand at a breeding centre, So cute. We also have native Geckos and introduced skinks. We have no deadly creatures in New Zealand except sharks (rarely do we have attacks) and the Katipo spider that can make a child very sick. Mainly invertebrates and birds rule our forests, those of which have developed into unusual niches and habits in a county with no natural predators. As you can imagine introduced pests ie rats, cats, myna birds have caused all sorts of damage to our unique environment. I think there are crocodiles or aligators at our local zoos too I guess, but not out of captivity.
Is it true that there are no snakes in New Zealand?
Mainly because there's a 2000km wide moat between New Zealand's North and South islands - and the West Island, the great arid, snake-infested continent you may know as Australia. The two countries have been separated by the Tasman Sea aka 'The Ditch' for about 85 million years, ever since New Zealand sheared off from the supercontinent of Gondwana.No SnakesSo that's why you'll find no native snakes in New Zealand. Nor will you find any in our zoos. It's illegal to bring snakes into the country and, as Te Ara, the New Zealand National Encyclopaedia gravely intones, "No exceptions are made".Occasionally someone will smuggle one past our biosecurity Gestapo, but when you're caught the snake will be euthanased and you'll be sent to prison (see: Snakes don't belong in New Zealand). For up to five years.The best we can do for ophidiophiles is serve up the occasional sea snake. Mostly yellow-bellied sea-snakes but this is a pretty rare thing - just 35 confirmed sightings since 1930.An 8m long yellow-bellied sea snake found at Auckland’s Whatipu beach in 2011.Not many mammals eitherNew Zealand has hardly any indigenous landmammals - just three species of small, highly endangered bats. But we do have a fairly wicked reptile called the tuatara. Considered a living fossil - a Dinosaur Junior if you will - it's the last of a line dating back 200 million years (see: Tuatara).More reading:Are There Snakes in New Zealand?
How come New Zealand does not have any snakes?
New Zealand is completely snake free - outside of a couple of snakes kept in Zoo's in the main centres. I believe (and this is off the top of my head) that there's a couple of reasons why.Firstly New Zealand is geographically isolated from every other country in the world. There is over a thousand kilometres of ocean between New Zealand and the nearest large land mass. There is simply no species of snake that can travel that far through water.Secondly the New Zealand Government actively works to ensure New Zealand remains snake free. What this means is that is snakes do slip into the country aboard shipping containers etc... they are hunted down and captured very quickly. A lot of New Zealand's endangered native wildlife would be wiped out if snakes were introduced to the country.
Are there sharks in New Zealand?
New Zealand is located in the Pacific Ocean (and the Tasman Sea). Are there sharks in the Pacific Ocean? Yes - therefore they are in the ocean around NZ. Perhaps a better answer is that there are quite a lot of sharks regularly in coastal waters. They range from small harmless dogfish to large and potentially dangerous sharks like the Great White, Mako and Bronze Whaler. The thing with these large sharks is that they do not have humans on their menu so you would be very unlucky to have an encounter with one. They, like most apex predators are quite vulnerable to injuries so they are very cautious. They are also curious and can rub up against something with their sandpaper-like skin. Great Whites prefer seals and one swimmer in a black wetsuit swimming in waters where seals were abundant in a remote island near NZ was bitten by a Great White.Lowering the pectoral fins like this is a warning sign - back off in Great White languageIt grabbed his arm and luckily the arm came off. The shark probably realised its mistake - big heavy human bones aren’t much fun. It went off looking for seals and the swimmer was medivac-ed to NZ. Another swimmer on the west coast of Auckland (which is rough and oceanic as opposed to the sheltered bays of the east coast) dived into deep water right into sharks in a feeding frenzy amongst a school of fish. He was a deep sea solo swimmer and was extremely unlucky to be amongst sharks that weren’t thinking straight. At least a couple went for him, including what was probably a sizeable Bronze Whaler. Shocked bystanders called the police and the local cop jumped in an inflatable armed with a rifle. The large shark still had the swimmer and kept thrashing around with an obviously lifeless body. The policeman had to wait until the shark surfaced enough to shoot it. Bullets really don’t go far under water. The shark released the body and sank.New Zealand's summer shark identification guideSince records began in 1852 there have been 45 recorded shark attacks in New Zealand waters, 12 of which were fatal (one every ten or twelve years).
Does New Zealand have dangerous animals?
There are dangerous animals in New Zealand, although not many. Most are in the ocean.Tiger Sharks: Tiger shark challenges recordMako Sharks: Mako SharkGreat White Sharks: Great white shark attacks film crewKatipo Spider: Katipo bites touristRedback Spider: Redback spiders taking over Central OtagoBluebottle Jellyfish: Heading out to the beach?Wild Boar: Woman survives attack by wild boarEels: Nine-year-old attacked by large eel - National - NZ Herald NewsStingrays: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/new...“Additionally, New Zealand’s coastal waters are host to a range of venomous fish and sea urchins. Most of these fish are classified within the Scorpaenidae family (scorpion fish) and come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and colours. They include the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), elephant fish (Callorhinchus milii) and the brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) – an introduced freshwater catfish. These venomous fish have external spines and all produce a similar toxic response in victims. Exposure to toxins can result in severe local pain, which can spread to the whole of the affected limb. In rare instances, sea urchin stings induce a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction.”http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Conte...
Are there kangaroos in New Zealand? If so, where?
There are kangaroos in the zoos as existing answers have stated, but I haven't heard of wild kangaroos in New Zealand. There are wild wallabies on Kawau Island though [1]. Wallabies are considered pests for destroying plant life, which is unfortunately a common theme for the many species that were imported to New Zealand.[1] Kawau Island wallabies