New Zealand Alps
New Zealand is a peculiar world. A remnant of the ancient Gondwana super-continent, largely inhabited by animals and plants that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. There are only a few native mammals; however, birds have diversified into an unprecedented variety of forms, including a number of flightless species.
Photo: Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
The majestic Southern Alps stretch along the entire South Island of New Zealand. They are home to the only alpine species of parrot, the Kea. A particularly important part of its range is the southwest of the mountains, encroaching into Fiordland National Park – the largest national park in New Zealand, where some of the world’s most endangered birds live.
The landscape was formed by glaciers – they carved out deep fiords on the coast, leaving many lakes inland. The alpine meadows of this rainy and windswept region not only provide a home to the Kea but are also the last original refuge of the flightless South Island Takahē, which was considered extinct for some time.
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