Nicola Toki
Critter of the Week: Tokoriro, Occultastella morgana
The 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
Bird of the Year returns for 2024
US talkshow host John Oliver, led an aggressive campaign to carry the Puteketeke to a landslide win in last year's Bird of the Century competition. The bird also known as the Australasian Crested… Audio
Critter of the Week: New Zealand hermit crab | kaunga
This week's critter is the kaunga (New Zealand hermit crab, Pagurus novizealandiae). Audio
Critter of the Week: Globular springtails
Behold! globular springtails (Dicyrtoma spp.). Audio
Critter of the Week: Curt, the marine fluke
This week's critter is a trematode (also known as a fluke) that has chosen to parastitise not one, but three separate animals. Audio
Critter of the Week
This week's critter is the piriwai or spiny gilled mayfly, Coloburiscus humeralis. They spend most of their lives as flat-bodied nymphs, clinging to rocks in swift, clear streams and rivers. Adult… Audio
Critter of the Week
This week's critter is large and hairy and grows in the remote and inclement Subantarctic Islands. Audio
Morning Report Essentials for Wednesday 19 June
On today's episode, the big new North Shore Hospital building that has been empty for months is set to partially open - but it won't result in any more surgery, former Prime Minister Helen Clark, who… Audio
Conservation Minister suggests not all species can be saved
The Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says it would cost hundreds-of-billions, maybe trillions, of dollars to save all native species in New Zealand from extinction and instead we should identify the… Audio
Critter of the Week
This week's critter is the ro, also known as the smooth stick insect, whe or Clitarchus hookeri - our most common native stick insect. Smooth stick insects have a range of superpowers: as well as… Audio
Critter of the Week puteketeke
This week's critter isn't tiny, unloved or even unattractive, but it is bizarre. The puteketeke or Australasian crested grebe was crowned Bird of the Century last year thanks to an 'alarmingly… Audio
Critter of the Week: putawa or bracket fungus
This week’s critter is the pūtawa or bracket fungus (also known as white punk, pangu or morepork bread). The fruiting body of this fungus looks a bit like a caramel-coloured flying saucer that crashed… Audio
Critter of the Week
The ghost moths are an ancient group of moths that appeared over 100 million years ago. Named after a ghostly European moth, the ghost moths are often thought to be the souls of the departed come back… Audio
Critter of the Week: The Great Giant Scale
This 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
Critter of the Week: Ram's Horn Squid
You 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
Critter of the Week: weweia New Zealand dabchick
This week's critter is the weweia New Zealand dabchick, also known as the New Zealand grebe. If the word 'grebe' gives you flashbacks (positive or otherwise) to last year's Bird of the Century… Audio
Critter of the Week: The ghost shrimp
This week's critter is the ghost shrimp (Filhollianassa filholi) - a type of mud or burrowing shrimp only found in Aotearoa. They dig themselves elaborate burrows in the sand between the high and low… Audio
Critter of the Week Fischer’s egg fungus
Summer is officially over and Autumn has begun. It's a time of year that fungi lovers across the country get excited about as all sorts of weird and wonderful fruiting bodies emerge out of the dark… Audio
Forest and Bird concerned over Govt Fast Track bill
The Government's Fast Track Approval bill will put New Zealand's threatened species on a fast track to extinction and leave a mess for future governments to clean up.
That's the assessment of… Audio
Critter of the Week: black cockroach hunter wasp
If you're a native New Zealand cockroach, the ngaro wiwi black cockroach hunter wasp is the stuff of your worst nightmares. Audio
