New+Zealand+Animals+(6L)

=__New Zealand Animals__=

There are quite a few animals in New Zealand like the Kiwi, the Kea, the Humpback whale and the blue bottle. Before humans were around in New Zealand about less than 1300 years ago there were no mammals in New Zealand except for the mammals that would swim there or fly there. There are a lot of flightless birds in New Zealand like the Kiwi. There are 60 species of lizards although 30 of them are skinks and the other 30 are geckos. There are some introduced animals like ferrets, dogs, squirrels and a few others. When humans first arrived at the Pacific Islands, they brought along the Polynesian Rat and the domesticated dog. Later Europeans brought pigs, ferrets, stoats, mice, cats, sheep, cattle and many other mammals. The rats, ferrets, dogs, cats and stoats have all seriously impacted the New Zealand fauna, which was making the species come to extinction.