New Zealand’s lakes are home to a rich variety of wildlife, both native and introduced, and play a vital role in our country’s ecosystems. Did you know our eels which are endemic to NZ can live over 80 years and migrate thousands of kilometers to spawn? Scaup are native to New Zealand and are famous for diving. Most New Zealanders don’t even know that the Black billed gull (Tarapuka) exists and is a different species to the common red billed gull. Black-billed gulls prefer inland sites and like most of our endemic species, are in decline. These photographs were taken at Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes.
