Animal Info - New Zealand

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy, Education), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur or have occurred in New Zealand and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

Endangered:
- Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus).
- Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus).
- Hector's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori). (Endemic to New Zealand.)
Vulnerable:
- Hooker's Sea Lion (Phocarctos hookeri). (Endemic to New Zealand.)
- Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
- Long-tailed Wattled Bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus).
- New Zealand Lesser Short-tailed Bat (Mystacina tuberculata). (Endemic to New Zealand.)
- Sperm Whale (Physeter catodon).

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 10 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 4 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996: 3* (30 % of total species) (IUCN 1996); 2000: 8 (80 % of total species) (IUCN 2000) [*Whales were not listed by country in 1996.]

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

New Zealand contains the New Zealand Tropical Forests, South Island Temperate Rainforests, and New Zealand Marine Ecosystems Global 200 Ecoregions (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)

Population

Population in 1995: 3,546,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 13.2 people/sq km (34.1 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 3,625,388 (World Almanac 1999)
Average population growth rate, 1980 - 1990: 0.9 % (World Bank 1992)

Area/Land Use

Area: 269,056 sq km (103,883 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

Other Coastal Aquatic: 21 %
Polar and Alpine: 2 %
Grass and Shrub: 25 %
Crop and Settlements: 15 %
Interrupted Woods: 21 %
Major Forests: 16 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 27 %, Medium: 4 %, High: 69 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 29,090 sq km (11,229 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 9.76 % totally protected, 1.22 % partially protected, 10.98 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $12,301 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $18,500 (World Almanac 1999)

Education

Percent of females in secondary education (1989): 89 % (World Bank 1992)

References and Links

References: Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2004, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, World Bank 1992, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for New Zealand): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles; Links for New Zealand: United Nations Environment Program - New Zealand, WWF New Zealand

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Last modified: May 15, 2006;