Hidden tribe of Kiwi discovered in the Ruahine Range in NZ...

Hidden tribe of Kiwi discovered in the Ruahine Range in NZ...

A hidden tribe of Kiwi were discovered in the Ruahine Range near Taihape in the North Island of New Zealand.

A new tribe you say? Why of course, the kiwi bird of course. Did you think I meant a human tribe?

This tribe of Kiwi has been found after volunteers made a stoat cull at the northern tip of the Ruahine Range, near Taihape. The stoat is one of the most dangerous predators of our native bird.

A group of 29 previously undetected North Island brown Kiwi were heard "singing, screeching and growling " among the red beech and red cedar on a perfectly still, quiet evening. It was reported that four years ago, Conservation Department staff found only four Kiwi in the area.

The latest group is the most southern-most population of North Island brown Kiwi, and the last remaining group in the Ruahines

Dairy factory farming proposal in New Zealand condemned by the Greens...

New Zealand is on the brink of introducing factory farming of dairy cows, the NZ Green Party said today: The party condemns the proposal.

Consent applications were recently lodged with Environment Canterbury for factory-style dairy farms in the Mackenzie Basin.

Three companies plan to establish 16 new farms with nearly 18,000 cows in the area. According to the applications, all 18,000 cows will be housed in 'cubicle stables' 24 hours a day for eight months of the year, and 12 hours a day for the remaining four months.

"This is factory farming, pure and simple," Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman said.

"Proposals to keep cows in cubicles that they don't leave for eight months of the year are a radical departure from our tradition of farming stock outside and on pasture, and could do immense harm to our clean, green international brand and image.

"Once word gets out to overseas consumers that New Zealand butter comes from factory farms, there goes our competitive advantage.

"Fonterra counters 'food-miles' arguments from our European competitors by saying that our milk products are more environmentally friendly than factory-farmed milk. This proposal flies in the face of that strategy.

"It's also a chilling prospect from an animal welfare perspective."

However the proposals are still being considered and are not necessarily a faite accompli.

Read more

Body of rare finback whale brought ashore in NZ...

Body of rare finback whale brought ashore in New Zealand...


A whale rarely seen in New Zealand's coastal waters has been brought into Lyttelton Harbour after its body became stuck on the bow of a cargo ship.

Its not known whether the 14m-long finback whale died at sea and was carried towards New Zealand on currents, or died in a collision with a ship.

The Department of Conservation is taking the whale to Christchurch for a necropsy which will determine how it died.

The finback whale is the second biggest whale species and can grow to a length of 26m.

Read here
Acknowledgements: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand bottlenose dolphins abbreviate body language...

We learn something new every day in the wonderful world of marine animals...

Spanish and British researchers have shown that New Zealand bottlenose dolphins abbreviate their body language, just as humans shorten commonly-used words.

Dolphins slapping their tails, diving, flopping sideways, and performing other movements when surface swimming, appear to use the same "linguistic economy" in their swimming movements, according to the researchers.

"Patterns of dolphin behaviour at the surface obey the same law of brevity as human language, with both seeking out the simplest and most efficient codes," said Dr Ramon Ferrer i Cancho, from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, in Spain.

This "law of brevity" proposed by linguists holds that the most frequently used words, such as "the" and "but", are also the shortest.

Although dolphins communicate mostly by means of audible clicks and whistles, experts believe they also employ body language when swimming close to one another.

Ferrer i Cancho studied Fiordland bottlenose dolphins in Fiordland's Doubtful Sound with a British colleague Dr David Lusseau, from Aberdeen University. Their report, Efficient Coding in Dolphin Surface Behavioural Patterns, has just been published in a science journal, Complexity.

The scientists found that each movement pattern made by the creatures could be broken down into one or more of four basic units. For example, the "tail slap" pattern could be divided up into three sub-movements given the names "slap", "tail" and "two".

A pattern called "spy hop" was made up of the units "stop", "expose", and "head". In contrast, the "side flop" pattern only comprised "leap" and "side", while a movement dubbed "tailstock dive" consisted of only one unit, the "dorsal arch".

In total the researchers counted more than 30 patterns of behaviour and their related units.

Dolphins executed many behaviour patterns made up of just one unit, and far fewer composed of four units.

"The simple and efficient behaviour strategies of dolphins are similar to those used by humans with words, and are the same as those used, for example, when we reduce the size of a photographic or video image in order to save space," Ferrer i Cancho said.

Acknowledgements TV ONE News.

The Manuka factor - honey from the NZ manuka tree...

The Manuka factor - honey from the NZ manuka tree...

First published at Qassia:

Honey made by bees from the nectar of New Zealand's manuka tree, leptospermum scoparium, contains an antibacterial property not found in other honeys.
Honey from the Australian tree leptospermum polygalifollum, or jelly bush, also has this property.

The property has become known as Unique Manuka Factor, UMF, and the honey as active manuka honey.

One of the compounds identified in this particular honey is metylglyxol, although it appears that the antibacterial property relies on the interaction of this compound with other elements in the honey.

The quantity of UMF in manuka honey varies.

Research by Waikato University in New Zealand's North Island, suggests its antibacterial activity is about twice as effective as other honey against Eschericihia co;i and Enteroocci, common causes of infections in wounds. It ismuch more effective than other honey against Helicobacter pylori, a common cause of peptic ulcers.

The University says the evidence that Active Manuka honey is more effective than other honey is not conclusive however. Not quite a miracle, but pretty close to it!

The intense flavour of dark manuka honey was once so disliked it was added to cow feed or simply washed away.

Today it earns such a premium on the export market that fake manuka honey has been a serious problem - industry sources say twice as much manuka honey is sold than produced in New Zealand.

Manuka Tree

Have to stop NZ ruminants from belching and farting

Lot of hot wind - NZ Flatulence innoculation for sheep being developed...

New Zealand scientists claim to have developed a "flatulence inoculation" aimed at cutting down on the massive amount of methane produced by its sheep and cows.



Sheep, cattle, goats and deer produce large quantities of gas through belching.

Such animals are believed to be responsible for more than half of the country's greenhouse gases, causing huge environmental problems.



And Phil Goff said recently:


But Phil Goff, New Zealand's trade minister, told an Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in Paris yesterday that a solution was in sight.

"Our agricultural research organisation just last week was able to map the genome ... that causes methane in ruminant animals and we believe we can vaccinate against" flatulent emissions, Mr Goff said.

Scientists in New Zealand have been working around-the-clock to reduce emissions from agriculture, such as changing the way fertilisers are used on pasture land, Mr Goff added.

Sheep, cattle, goats and deer produce large quantities of gas through belching and flatulence, as their multiple stomachs digest grass.

Ruminants are responsible for about 25 per cent of the methane produced in Britain, but in countries with a large agricultural sector, the proportion is much higher.

The 45 million sheep and 10 million cattle in New Zealand burped and farted about 90 percent of that country's methane emissions, according to government figures.

In comparison, livestock are responsible for about two per cent of the United States's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Under the Kyoto Protocol to combat global warming, New Zealand must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.

In the past New Zealand's farmers have showed their disgust at government plans to impose an animal "flatulence tax" by sending parcels of manure to members of parliament.

The OECD conference is discussing climate change, trade and the global economy.

Acknowledgement: Peter Allen in Paris.

Flatulence

The greening of Antarctica - wind farm to be constructed in Antarctica...

The greening of Antarctica - wind farm to be constructed on Ross Island...

'Antarctica New Zealand' and the New Zealand state energy company, Meridian, will embark on a joint project to construct the southernmost windfarm in the world.

The project will be part of Antarctica New Zealand's contribution to the joint logistics pool with the US Antarctic program on Ross Island.

The scheme will reportedly greatly reduce power generation diesel fuel consumption by 463,000 litres annually and will involve the construction of three large wind turbines linked to the electric grids of New Zealand's Scott Base and the US McMurdo Sound Station. There will be a reduction of greenhouse gas production by 1242 tonnes of CO2 annually - and a reduction in the carbon footprint as a consequence.

Read further here

The flight of the Godwits - a world record 11,000km non-stop journey...

World scientists have simply marvelled over the flight of the Godwits - a little female Godwit somewhere in New Zealand has achieved a world record for non-stop flying - an epic 11,200 km journey from Alaska in the north down to New Zealand in the Pacific in one single flight!

A major international study into the birds has been published in the journal PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B and an explanation as to why the Godwit fly so far from Alaska down to New Zealand in the Pacific.

It was reportedly an 11,000 km non-stop journey - gobsmacking to say the least!

Acknowledgements to the photographer above:

Read

Iceland to test Mitsubishi "zero emission" cars...

Iceland to test Mitsubishi "zero emission" cars...


Representatives of Iceland's Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism have shaken hands on a deal with Mitsubish's executives for a 'fleet testing' of zero emission cars in their country.

Moving to electric motoring would allow countries to reduce their need for fossil fuels even more,and that is what Iceland has reportedly decided to do.

It claims it gets most of its electrical energy from hydroelectric and geothermal sources - being a volcano/island it is sitting atop the mid-Atlantic ridge, and is extremely keen on renewable resources.

Having to ship in petrol it is not cheap, though at 132 Icelandic Krona, equivalent to 79p it is cheaper than what they pay in the United Kingdom.

New Zealand is also keen to test zero emission vehicles, and will be taking close notice of Icelandic testing of such vehicles.

Read story here

Earthquake fautlines have been mapped out in New Zealand...

NIWA says if a large earthquake occurs it will probably be contained to one NZ island; fault lines through Cook Strait mapped out




Scientists hope research into the country's most active seismic risk area will help to better predict earthquakes.


The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research has mapped out fault lines through Cook Strait for the first time. It has found no connections between the major faults running through the North and South Islands, meaning a large earthquake would probably be contained to one island.

Ocean Geology Scientist Dr Philip Barnes says the new fault maps will prove very helpful and give scientists a better idea of the potential locations of future earthquakes and when they might occur. Dr Barnes says the information can be used to predict how an earthquake on one fault might affect another fault.



Compliments:
© 2008 NZCity, NewsTalkZB

The New Zealand Kiwi - an icon of national identity...

The New Zealand Kiwi.


A Great Spotted kiwi:

The kiwi is the smallest living member of the ratite family (Apterygidae), a group of flightless birds which includes the rheas of South America, the ostriches of Africa, the emu of Australia and the extinct moa of New Zealand. There are six different species of kiwi, The Little Spotted Kiwi, Great Spotted Kiwi, Brown Kiwi, Okarito, Haast Tokoeka and the Southern Tokoeka.

This country’s ancient isolation and lack of mammals allowed the kiwi to occupy a habitat and lifestyle that elsewhere would be occupied by mammals. The kiwi is a unique bird and has become an icon for the New Zealand ’spirit’ and an emblem of national identity - human,sport and the fruit.

Silly old Arapara goats have to go...

Silly old Arapara goats have to go...

An international effort has to be mounted to save rare goats marked for death on an island in the Marlborough Sounds in the northern South Island of New Zealand.

Rare breed enthusiasts from New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom have joined forces to raise money to rescue some of the Arapara goats before the official cull starts soon on the island.

The goats are believed to have descended from a few left by Captain Cook in 1773 and 1777, and are believed to be a rare species.

But the Conservation Department said these goats are ravaging unique plant species on the island and the goat numbers needed to be controlled.

Wild goats are described as browsers, rather than grazers. They allegedly cause considerable damage to understory vegetation up to two metres above ground, damaging young trees in exotic forests and along replanted soil-conservation areas.The effects of goats destroying undergrowth and the effects of possums browsing the canopies, results in significant and possible permanent damage to the native population.

As a consequence the Conservation Department is forced into controlling wild goat populations, and the intended cull of the Arapara goat population is part of this population control. It is sad but necessary!

Wild Goats

The unique language of dolphins...

The unique language of dolphins...

First published at Qassia:

The unique language of dolphins is being recorded - decoding the secrets.
Decoding the Maui dolphins secrets - one of the most endangered of their species.

Its unique language is being recorded for the first time to discover where it goes on its journeys.

There are only 110 Maui dolphins left in the world and they all live in coastal waters along a section of the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

Otago University's researchers believe they routinely visit many of the harbours dotted along the coast after deciphering and monitoring its unique "clicking" langage.

Using echo-location sonar equipment anchored to buoys in west coast harbours, researchers believe they have evidence of the dolphins roving ways.

Dolphins apparently use ultrasonic sonar clicks and each species has its own particular accent, just like humans.

Compared to other dolphin species, Maui's and their close relation, the Hector's dolphin, have a click frequency range of 112-130 kHZ, similar to the bottlenose dolphin I wrote about a few months ago, but a higher frequency to the common dolphin and the dusky dolphin.

Most of the Maui's and Hector's dolphins sounds are beyond human hearing, with their only audible sounds being a squeal or cry created by high frequency "clicks".

The study was part of conservation efforts to help the endangered Maui dolphin avoid extinction.

The Fisheries Ministry and Department of Conservation are working on a strategy to meet a balance of the dolphin's survival and the fishing industry. An interim net ban has been put in place along the Maui's coastal range, but not inside harbours.

It is a miracle that the dolphins can find their way out of the myriad of nets in these harbours.

A recent news item would suggest that the future of these animals is becoming a priority with maritime authorities; that must be a very good thing for their future.

Dolphin Language





Contributor's Note
A unique language