Endangered Species Foundation
The Endangered Species Foundation(ESF) talks saving New Zealand's ten most endangered creatures. The Endangered Species Foundation(ESF) started in March 2013 and set out to sustainably fund conservation action to prevent the extinction of any New Zealand native species like the Maui and Hector's dolphin.
What is the Endangered Species Foundation doing?
We are supporting the Māui dolphin by:
1. Working with conservation groups, government agencies and industry, and presenting an un-biased view of Māui dolphin conservation activity.
2. Having an observer on the Research Advisory Group which is involved in
evaluating Māui dolphin research.
3. Raising funds to support activities that help the fishing industry transition to
Māui dolphin-safe fishing. Currently, $13,500 is needed to complete research on the
economic costs and benefits of the fishing industry transitioning to other fishing
methods. A further $150,000 per annum is needed to provide expert input into
transitioning the fishing industry into Māui dolphin safe fishing methods.
4. Looking to support other, smaller, projects with a public involvement outcome.
5. We also offer to bring together a consultative group with a role of evaluating achievements, assessing future options and negotiating progress
Which animals does the Endangered Species Foundation support?
1. Maui dolphin
The critically endangered Māui dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) is one of the world’s smallest and rarest dolphins. An endemic sub-species closely related to the Hector’s dolphin, it is now found only in the shallow coastal waters off the west coast of the North Island.
Only between 55 to 63 Māui dolphins remain. Entanglement in fishing nets and debris, mining activity, boat strike, pollution and disease, together with natural factors, continue to pose real risks to the species' survival.
2. Mokohinau stag beetle
The Mokohinau stag beetle (Geodorcus ithaginis) is one of New Zealand’s few remaining large beetles (25-32mm long). Known only from the Mokohinau Islands east of Auckland, it owes its name to the large antler-like mandibles on the head of male, which they are thought to use when fighting for mates.
Whilst we still have a lot to learn about the species, we know that it has disappeared from all islands in the area inhabited by rats. The last known population inhabits a living room-sized patch of iceplant on a small, rat-free rock stack in the island group which is highly vulnerable to storm damage.
Though the beetles are difficult to rear in captivity, hopes for the survival of the species depend on increasing the size of the population through captive breeding, before translocating them to safer rat-free islands.
3. New Zealand fairy tern
The critically endangered NZ fairy tern (Sternula nereis davisae) is the most endangered of New Zealand’s birds, with only about a dozen pairs surviving on beaches between Whangarei and Auckland.
The encroachment of human activity on their nesting grounds (often, popular beaches) is a major threat to these birds. Beach narrowing, mainly due to housing developments and weed invasion, forces the terns to nest closer to the sea, putting their eggs at risk during storms. Introduced predators and human disturbance also threaten nesting sites.
An intensive conservation programme is underway to protect the NZ fairy tern, and has successfully increased the population from an all-time low in 1983 of just three or four breeding pairs.
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