Critter of the Week
Nicola Toki is the CEO of Forest and Bird and a self-confessed "nature nerd". Each week she talks to Jesse Mulligan about an uncharismatic but lovable member of New Zealand's wildlife community.
Get the book! Critters of Aotearoa is based on this Afternoon's segment and is available now at bookstores.
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Critter of the Week: Water Spider aka dolomedes aquaticus
24 Oct 2025The critter of the week is the water spider, Dolomedes aquaticus! This spider has a special affinity with water, spending most of their time near braided rivers. Dolomedes spiders are also called… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Northland Tusked Weta
5 Sep 2025This week's critter is small but very fierce! The Northland Tusked Weta is around 2 cm in size, they are a beautiful orange-brown colour with bands along the back. These little critters live in small… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Jaw Moth is in the spotlight
22 Aug 2025Critter of the Week is our chance to put the spotlight on some of our endangered creatures. This week we're turning our attention to jaw moths, they're considered to be the most primitive living… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Mokopiriakau granulatus - the forest gecko
1 Aug 2025This week's critter of the week is the moko piriakau, also known as the forest gecko. They are renowned for their ability to easily camouflage to their surroundings and their incredible climbing… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Ranger Dragonfly
25 Jul 2025Next Thursday is World Ranger Day, and to celebrate this important role and the people doing it, our critter of the week is the endemic ranger dragonfly. Just like human rangers, these ranger… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Ranger Dragonfly
25 Jul 2025Next Thursday is World Ranger Day, and to celebrate this important role and the people doing it, our critter of the week is the endemic ranger dragonfly. Just like human rangers, these ranger… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Alicella Gigantea
This week's critter of the week loves freezing temperatures, no sunlight and extreme pressure. It lives at extreme depths, seven kilometres down, not just surviving but thriving. Nicola Toki joins… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The impressive Golden Hunter Wasp
4 Jul 2025It's critter of the week time, and this week we're looking at the Golden Hunter Wasp. It's also known as the red spider wasp because they hunt spiders in a most impressive manner. Audio
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Critter of the Week - Spotlight on the stars in our forests
27 Jun 2025This week's critter of the week will resonate with highly observant nature lovers. You may have noticed strange little markings covering the surface of leaves, turns out these are actually tunnels… Audio
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Critter of the Week
30 May 2025This week's critter has a rather extreme attachment style. The genus name of the trematode, Philophthalmus attenuatus, means 'eye-loving', which is a polite way to describe the adults of this species… Audio
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Critter of the Week
23 May 2025It's often said New Zealand has no native snakes, but that's not quite true. The venomous, ocean-dwelling yellow-bellied sea snake (Hydrophis platurus) occasionally drifts into our waters. Around 6 to… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Glowworm parasite
16 May 2025This week's critter is a tiny wasp that looks a lot like an ant. It lives in and around healthy native forest gullies where there are plenty of glowworms. But these wasps aren't looking for a romantic… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Takapo ground weta
4 Apr 2025This week's critter is an endangered weta that only lives in the silty river margins of the Mackenzie Basin. The small, cute and elusive Takapo ground weta, Hemiandrus 'furoviarius', digs itself a… Audio
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Critter of the Week - The magpie moth (Nyctemera annulata)
7 Mar 2025Moths don't tend to get the love and attention that their cousins the butterflies do. Audio
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Critter of the Week: Shore puha
6 Dec 2024Before spinach and silverbeet became our go-to greens, the humble puha was there. Puha or sow thistle might be an unassuming 'weed' that many of us pass without noticing, but they have been part of… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Te whai rahi | Giant manta ray
29 Nov 2024This week's critter is one of the most intelligent animals in the ocean. Te whai rahi, the giant oceanic manta ray, has a brain to body mass ratio similar to our own and is one of the only fish that… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Thread-legged bug
15 Nov 2024This week's critter is a curious and cryptic insect you've probably never heard of. The native thread-legged bug, Empicorus seorsus, is unique to Aotearoa and is one of only four thread-legged bugs… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Seaweed isopod | weri moana
18 Oct 2024This week's critter is the seaweed isopod, Paridotea ungulata. Seaweed isopods are true masters of camouflage. Their bright green bodies blend perfectly with their favourite habitat (and food) - sea… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Tokoriro, Occultastella morgana
30 Aug 2024The elusive and beautiful tokoriro, Occultastella morgana, was only recently discovered on the Denniston Plateau by Massey University Professor Steve Trewick. This remarkable species is just one of… Audio
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Critter of the Week
12 Jul 2024This week's critter is large and hairy and grows in the remote and inclement Subantarctic Islands. Audio
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Critter of the Week
14 Jun 2024Patangaroa or sun stars are a species of starfish found in the intertidal zones of Te Ika-a-Maui and the West Coast of the Te Waipounamu. Audio
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Critter of the Week
31 May 2024International World Turtle Day was celebrated recently, a day to shellerbrate the magnificent turtles of the world and call attention to the many threats they face in our oceans. Turtles are… Audio
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Critter of the Week: The Great Giant Scale
3 May 2024This week's critter, the great giant scale, (Coelostomidia zealandica) is a native specie of scale bug. Females have pink wingless bodies and look like they have terrible dandruff, with a dusting of… Audio
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Critter of the Week: Ram's Horn Squid
19 Apr 2024You might have come across the creamy white spiral shells of this week's critter on the beach. The enigmatic ram's horn squid, Spirula spirula is a squid-like cephalopod mollusc. Audio
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Critter of the Week
12 Apr 2024This week's critter is found on sandy beaches throughout Aotearoa. The mowhiti, or New Zealand sandhopper, is a sand-burrowing, beach-loving amphipod with impressive jumping abilities. Audio
