Tag Archives: New Zealand

Wildlife Photos: New Zealand Sheep

 

New Zealand Sheep
Two tasty-looking sheep hanging out on a hill in New Zealand

 

When it comes to posting wildlife and animal photos, I pretty much always try to post the specific species / subspecies name. After all a bear isn’t always just a bear, and my photographed wolf may be different than the wolf species you saw.

So, when I was in New Zealand I took a few pictures of sheep. I imagine everyone who visits Kiwi-land does so. People still jokes that there are 60 million sheep in New Zealand but far fewer people. 30 sheep for every person.

Ok, but what type of sheep are they?

Mystery Sheep in New Zealand
Another mystery sheep on the South Island of New Zealand

 

Turns out there are at least 28 different sheep species in New Zealand! What? Seriously who knew there were so many types of sheep? I’m not making this up, this information is straight from Beef + Lamb New Zealand, and the New Zealand Sheepbreeders Association.

Even wit ha helpful graphic they provide of different sheep looks and which island they’re found on – I was still confused as to whether these are Polwarth sheep, Corriedale sheep, Borderdale sheep, Perendale sheep or Cheviot sheep.

So, I’m just calling them sheep. What I do know, is that they look pretty damn tasty. Who wants some unknown species of lamb for lunch?

Wildlife Photo: New Zealand Fur Seal

 

New Zealand Fur Seal
A baby New Zealand Fur Seal photographed near Dunedin

 

On my visit to New Zealand I made a point to visit Dunedin, for it’s wildlife watching.

I saw penguins there, which was my main draw, but the New Zealand Fur Seals were a big attraction as well.

A little more than a hundred years ago, these fur seals were hunted to near extinction by the Maori people. Thankfully, today there is a growing population near Dunedin, around the Otago Peninsula.

It was late-November when I visited and we were lucky enough to see a number of newborn fur seals, even some that had just been born that day! (Kind of gross with the placenta still lying on the rocks.)

Wildlife Photo: Australasian Gannet

 

Wildlife Photo: Australasian Gannet
An Australasian Gannet close-up picture taken at Cape Kidnappers in New Zealand

 

A close-up of the colourful and picturesque Australasian Gannet, photographed at the Cape Kidnappers colony in New Zealand.

These are large seabirds similar to the booby birds. Mostly white, the Gannets have a bit of yellow head colouring as well as the blue eye and beak colourations seen in this photo.

While breeding pairs are usually inaccessible, the Cape Kidnappers colony near Hawkes Bay in NZ numbers around 3000 breeding pairs and can be reached by road or by beach. It has been declared an Important Birding Area by Birdlife International.