Day 3 - Winter Learning Journey

Day #3: Wild Eyes

Date: Monday 09 July

You have now woken up after a long, comfortable sleep at your hotel in Dargaville. You’re ready for another day of adventuring! Today, you will drive around the North island and be introduced to amazing animals that live here in New Zealand. Some are native and some are non-native. Native animals are animals that normally live in New Zealand. Non-native animals are animals that were brought into New Zealand from another country. Examples of native New Zealand animals are the kakapo, the kiwi, the kea parrot, the yellow eyed penguin and the pekapeka bat.

http://www.kiwidaydreaming.com/p/new-zealand-maps.html

Activity 1: Curious Kiwi, a native New Zealand bird, is your tour guide for today. He is going to take you to visit the Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park where many of his aunties and uncles currently live. The bird park is a five hour drive from Dargaville so you hit the road right after breakfast and arrive in Otorohanga at lunch time. As you walk through the birdhouse you learn about the work being done to conserve and protect the native birds of New Zealand. You decide to help out by ‘adopting’ a native animal. Visit the ‘Adopt a Critter page’ on the Otorohanga bird house website to choose one animal to adopt. On your blog, tell us the name of the animal that you chose and a little bit about them. What kind of animal are they? What do they eat? Where do they normally live? You can use Google to help you with your research.

http://www.newzealand.com/int/plan/business/otorohanga-kiwi-house-and-native-bird-park/

Adopting an animal - Tuatara

While I was at Otorohanga Kiwi House and Native Bird Park, I was very interested in the Tuatara. I don't know why but I think I fancied it the most. I was so interested in the Tuatara that I decided to adopt it. But before doing that I wanted to know more about this reptile. I talked to the people who worked there and they gave me all the information I needed.

Information about Tuataras

Tuatara in Maori actually means "peaks on the back."
Tuataras are carnivorous so they only eat meat. The Tuatara mostly eats insects, spiders, bird eggs, frogs and small reptiles/mammals.
Tuataras are one of Aotearoa's most famous animals, second to the Kiwi. Tuataras live in burrows and are most active at night, but will only come out during the day to bask in the sun.
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Activity 2: After your great visit to the Otorohanga bird house it is time to hop back onto the bus and head towards the Hawke’s Bay – your resting place for the evening. Hawke’s Bay is a beautiful region of New Zealand. It is known for its wineries and gorgeous scenery. When you arrive in Napier, the largest city in the region, you go for a walk through Waitangi Regional Park and notice that many of the leaves on the native trees have been damaged. Curious Kiwi tells you that they were damaged by possums, non-native predators, from Australia. People in New Zealand are working hard to trap and kill these predators. Their goal is to remove all of the possums (and other predators) by 2050. Go to the ‘Predator Free 2050 website’ to read more about their work.

http://www.outlawyarn.com/possum.html

On your blog, tell us whether you agree that New Zealand should be predator free. In your opinion, is it right to kill all of the predators (eg. possums) or should we just leave them alone? On your blog tell us what you think and give us, at least, three reasons why you think this way.

My Thoughts - Should New Zealand go Predator free?

Well, I'm not sure if New Zealand should go Predator free. If you kill all the predators, native trees won't be harmed anymore. But if you do get rid of all the predators there won't be any Possum meat left. Possum meat has been exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia for people to enjoy. They are considered a special food delicacy. It is even called "Kiwi Bear." Which is great for Aotearoa and our neighbour, Australia. I really can't choose. But if it's doing the best for our native trees then I would have to say we should get rid of pests in New Zealand.

Once you have finished your blog post, it is time to relax for the evening. You and your friends have a nice dinner and then head to bed. You are just about to fall asleep when you hear something moving around outside your hotel. It sounds like a large bird. Maybe it’s a Moa…

To learn more about the Moa bird go to the bonus activity for today!

http://www.pottonandburton.co.nz/from-moa-to-dinosaurs/

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Bonus Activity: A really cool new website called Wild Eyes has recently been launched in New Zealand. It is a programme for students who want to complete fun activities (called ‘missions’), take pictures and post them on the Wild Eyes site. For this bonus activity, go to the Wild Eyes site and complete the ‘Giant Moa Discovery’ mission. To earn full points you must post a picture of your Moa on the Wild Eyes website and on your personal blog site. The Wild Eyes team and I can’t wait to see what you create!

Bonus Activity: 20 points

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