Animals in New Zealand
Kiwi
Apteryx (5 species)
The kiwi is a small nocturnal bird that lives on the ground in native forest and scrub. It has a rounded body, short legs, loose feathers and a long bill with nostrils near the tip, which helps it find insects and worms in leaf litter and soft soil. By day it stays hidden in burrows, hollow logs or dense roots, and at night it walks quietly through its territory in search of food. Several species exist across different parts of New Zealand, and many populations have declined due to introduced predators such as dogs, cats and stoats. Predator control and captive breeding programs are now essential to its survival.
View details→Wildlife in New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country with mountains, forests, rivers and long coastlines in a cool temperate ocean. For millions of years it had almost no land mammals, so many birds, reptiles and insects filled roles that mammals would hold elsewhere. Native wildlife includes flightless birds such as kiwi, forest parrots, wading birds, lizards and the ancient tuatara, along with seals and sea lions on rocky shores. Offshore waters support dolphins, whales and many seabirds that follow rich currents and fishing grounds. Walking tracks, birdwatching sites and coastal boat trips let visitors see this mix of land and marine animals as part of nature based tourism.
Most Dangerous Animals in New Zealand
New Zealand is often seen as a country with few dangerous animals, yet some species still require caution, especially in remote areas and open water. In forests and rural zones, wild pigs can cause serious injury if they are surprised at close range or feel trapped. At sea, great white sharks patrol deeper channels and coastal areas, and killer whales sometimes travel along the same coasts in search of prey. Serious incidents with people are rare, but avoiding risky swimming spots, respecting local warnings and keeping distance from wildlife are simple ways to stay safe.
Top 10 Animals in New Zealand
New Zealand's top 10 brings together animals that reflect the country's unique position as an island nation shaped by millions of years without land mammals. The kiwi and the kea represent native birds that evolved without ground predators. In the surrounding ocean, sperm whales and orcas are the most powerful hunters, while fur seals and sea lions haul out on rocky southern shores. The great white shark patrols deeper coastal channels near seal colonies. On land, the chamois in the Southern Alps and the wild boar in rural areas represent introduced species that have become part of the modern landscape. The tuatara, a reptile unchanged since the age of dinosaurs, completes a list unlike any other in the world.
White tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
The white tailed deer is not native to New Zealand. It was released in 1905 on Stewart Island, or Rakiura, and at the head of Lake Wakatipu, near Queenstown, and both herds still survive. On Stewart Island it lives in forest right down to the beaches and draws thousands of hunters each year. It makes up only a small share of the country's wild deer, which are mostly red deer. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Chamois
Rupicapra rupicapra
Chamois arrived in New Zealand in 1907, when Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria sent eight animals that were released near Aoraki/Mount Cook. They spread across the Southern Alps of the South Island and are now the most numerous wild hoofed animal there after red deer. Because they eat native alpine plants, they are treated as a pest and hunted year round. Locals call them shammy. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Hare
Lepus europaeus
Hares were released in New Zealand from the 1860s and spread through both main islands, especially the dry grasslands and high country of the South Island. They live from lowland farmland to tussock grassland well above the tree line. Hares are classed as pests because they eat pasture, crops, young trees and native alpine plants, and they are also hunted for sport. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Red Deer
Cervus elaphus
Red deer were brought to New Zealand from Britain for hunting, with about 1,000 released between 1851 and 1923. With no predators, they spread across most of the native forest by the 1940s, eating up to 90% of the seedlings in some areas, and in 1956 the government declared all deer pests. Helicopter culling and live capture for deer farms later cut their numbers, but they remain the country's most widespread game animal. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Wild Boar
Sus scrofa
New Zealand had no pigs until Captain James Cook released some in 1773, which is why wild pigs here are still called Captain Cookers. Later releases by European settlers added more. Today they live in forests and rough hill country on both main islands, where they damage native plants and soil. Pig hunting is a big part of rural culture, with dogs and on foot. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Wallaby
Macropodidae (various species)
Wallabies are not native to New Zealand. Bennett's wallabies from Tasmania were released near Waimate in 1874 and now cover a large area of South Canterbury, while dama wallabies spread around the Rotorua lakes. They damage native forest, pasture and crops, so they are managed as a pest, with a national program working to contain and remove them. IUCN status: varies by species.
Sambar Deer
Rusa unicolor
The sambar is an introduced species in New Zealand. In 1875, a pair or so from Sri Lanka was released near the Manawatū coast of the North Island, and after poaching reduced them to about 30 animals in 1893, protection let the herd recover. Today their descendants range over about 11,000 square kilometers of the Manawatū and Rangitīkei region, with a second population in the Bay of Plenty, and they are prized by hunters. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Tuatara
Sphenodon punctatus
The tuatara lives only in New Zealand and is the last survivor of a reptile lineage more than 240 million years old. It survives on about 32 predator-free islands, such as Takapourewa in Cook Strait, and in fenced sanctuaries like Zealandia in Wellington, where wild tuatara hatched in 2009. It hunts insects and seabird chicks at night, thrives in cool weather and can live over 100 years. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Black browed Albatross
Thalassarche melanophris
New Zealand holds the smallest breeding population of the black browed albatross anywhere: about 120 pairs on Bollons Island in the Antipodes, some 20 on Campbell Island and a single pair on the Snares. Beyond those colonies the species is mostly a visitor to offshore waters, seen around the South Island and the sub Antarctic territories. New Zealand's measures to cut seabird bycatch matter to the wider population. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Cape Petrel
Daption capense
New Zealand is home to its own subspecies of the Cape petrel, Daption capense australe, which breeds on the sub-Antarctic islands to the south, including the Snares, Bounty, Antipodes, Auckland and Campbell Islands. Outside the breeding season, Cape petrels are frequently seen on pelagic trips from both the North and South Islands. Its checkered plumage makes it one of the easiest seabirds to identify in these waters. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Brown Skua
Stercorarius antarcticus
The brown skua breeds on New Zealand's Chatham Islands and on the subantarctic Auckland, Campbell and Antipodes Islands, nesting on open coastal ground and preying on the eggs and chicks of penguins, petrels and albatrosses. On the Chathams, many territories are held by trios of one female and two males, a rare arrangement among birds. In winter some reach the waters around the main islands. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Mute Swan
Cygnus olor
The mute swan was brought to New Zealand in the 1860s by acclimatization societies, with releases in Canterbury, Otago and Auckland. Several hundred once lived wild at Lake Ellesmere, but the Wahine storm of April 1968 destroyed their feeding grounds and numbers crashed. Today perhaps 100 remain in the wild, mainly in Canterbury and Hawke's Bay, far outnumbered by the black swans that share their lakes. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Kea
Nestor notabilis
The kea lives only on New Zealand's South Island, where it roams subalpine forests, rocky slopes, and high valleys of the Southern Alps. Olive green with a burst of orange under its wings, it is the only alpine parrot in the world. Famous for its curiosity and intelligence, it can solve puzzles and work in teams. It is listed as Endangered, largely due to introduced predators such as stoats and rats.
Kookaburra
Dacelo novaeguineae
The laughing kookaburra is an introduced bird in New Zealand. Governor Sir George Grey released it on Kawau Island, north of Auckland, in 1866, and while other releases failed, a small population spread to the nearby mainland. Today perhaps 500 birds or fewer live between Whangarei and the Waitakere Ranges, so its famous laugh is rarely heard in the country. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Black Swan
Cygnus atratus
In New Zealand, black swans were released from 1864, and some probably also crossed from Australia on their own, so the IUCN counts the species as native. It is now common on both the North and South Islands, with large numbers on Lake Ellesmere and the Rotorua lakes. It feeds on water plants, nests near the shore, and is common enough that hunting is allowed in season. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Kiwi
Apteryx (5 species)
Kiwi are found nowhere else on Earth, and all five species live in New Zealand: the North Island brown kiwi, the tokoeka, the rowi and the great and little spotted kiwis. They shelter in forests and scrublands across both main islands and on predator-free island sanctuaries. Nocturnal and flightless, they probe the soil with their long bill for worms and insects. Four species are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Blue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus
New Zealand has a resident group of blue whales in the South Taranaki Bight, between the North and South Islands, confirmed by research in the 2010s. The whales feed there all year on krill kept alive by a local upwelling, and they are genetically distinct from other populations. The discovery started a debate about seabed mining, oil and gas work and vessel noise in an area that was not managed with whales in mind. IUCN status: Endangered.
Fur Seal
Arctocephalus spp.
The New Zealand fur seal, or kekeno, lives all around the country and its subantarctic islands, with about 200,000 animals. Kaikōura is the easiest place to see it: at Ōhau Point the colony beside the highway grew from about 50 pups in the mid 1990s to some 1,500 in 2009, and young seals once played in a nearby waterfall stream. Cape Palliser is another big colony. Fully protected since 1978, it has recovered strongly, though nets still kill some each year. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
Humpbacks pass New Zealand on their migration between Antarctica and the breeding grounds of Tonga, New Caledonia and eastern Australia. The peak is in June and July, when they move north through Cook Strait, where a yearly count from land tracks their recovery, and past Kaikōura. They return south in spring. Some of these whales belong to the Oceania population, which is still endangered. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Orca
Orcinus orca
New Zealand has its own small orca population, of only about 150 to 200 animals, which moves around the whole coast and is listed as Nationally Critical in the country. They are seen regularly in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, in the Bay of Islands, around Wellington and Kaikōura, and they even enter harbors. Unlike most orcas, they specialize in hunting stingrays in shallow water. Researchers know each animal by its dorsal fin. IUCN status: Data Deficient.
Bottlenose Dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
New Zealand has three main coastal groups of bottlenose dolphins. In Fiordland, small groups live in Doubtful and Dusky sounds, among the coldest waters where the species is found. In the Bay of Islands, a declining group led the government to ban swimming with them in 2021, and another group lives along the east coast of the North Island. The species is listed as Nationally Endangered in New Zealand. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Common Dolphin
Delphinus delphis
New Zealand is one of the best places in the world to see common dolphins. They live in the Hauraki Gulf, next to Auckland, all year, and boat trips from the city find them on most days, often feeding together with Bryde's whales and gannets. They are also common in the Bay of Plenty and the Bay of Islands. Bycatch in trawl fisheries is the main threat in New Zealand waters. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Elephant Seal
Mirounga spp.
New Zealand's southern elephant seals breed on its subantarctic islands. The main colony is on the Antipodes Islands, with a few hundred animals, while Campbell Island, which had close to 200 pups a year in the 1940s, now sees only an occasional birth. On the North and South Islands the species is a rare visitor, when a young seal comes ashore to rest or molt on a beach far from its colony. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Sea Lion
Otariinae (six living species)
The New Zealand sea lion, or whakahao, is one of the rarest sea lions in the world. Nearly 70 percent of its pups are born on the subantarctic Auckland Islands, and smaller groups breed on Stewart Island, Otago and the Catlins, where females have returned to the mainland since the 1990s. The adult population is now below 5,000 and expected to keep falling, hit by squid fishing bycatch and disease at the Auckland Islands. IUCN status: Endangered.
Southern Right Whale
Eubalaena australis
New Zealand's southern right whales, called tohorā in Māori, gather each winter at Port Ross in the subantarctic Auckland Islands, their main calving ground, where up to 165 have been counted in a single day. They were almost wiped out by whaling, and around the mainland sightings are still rare, although more whales are returning to coastal bays where they once gave birth. The population keeps growing. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Leopard Seal
Hydrurga leptonyx
New Zealand reclassified the leopard seal from vagrant to resident in 2019. The species breeds on the subantarctic islands, and it now turns up in every region of the mainland, with juveniles making up about a third of the records and three births documented. The most famous is Owha, a female who has lived for years around the marinas between Auckland and Whangārei, often sleeping on pontoons. People are asked to keep their distance. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Sperm Whale
Physeter macrocephalus
New Zealand has one of the best places in the world to see sperm whales: Kaikōura, on the South Island, where a deep underwater canyon comes within a few kilometers of shore. Adult males feed there all year, and Whale Watch Kaikōura, a company founded in 1987 by the local Māori, finds them on most trips by listening for their clicks with hydrophones. Seeing a tail lift before a dive is the classic image. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Great White Shark
Carcharodon carcharias
In New Zealand great white sharks are seen regularly around Stewart Island, at the southern tip of the country, especially from about December to June, when they gather near fur seal colonies in Foveaux Strait, and around the Chatham Islands. Tagging has shown that some of these sharks travel to tropical islands such as New Caledonia and Vanuatu each winter. New Zealand has protected the species since 2007. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Researched and written by Juan Pablo. Sources: IUCN Red List, scientific literature and regional field guides. Last updated: .