Endangered NZ stars for BBC wildlife series
15 Dec 2008
Kakapo, tuatara, kiwi and other unique New Zealand wildlife will be the stars in an episode of a major new television series by British writer and actor Stephen Fry.
Fry will begin filming the New Zealand segment of a the BBC series Last Chance to See later this month (December 08).
The five-part series celebrates 20 years since the first Last Chance To See book and radio series which profiled eight species worldwide facing extinction, including the kakapo, New Zealand's native nocturnal parrot.
Five locations
Fry will be accompanied by wildlife photographer and zoologist Mark Carwardine, who worked with Douglas Adams on the original radio series and book.
Fry and Carwardine plan to film five conservation stories in different locations on the mainland and off-shore islands. The schedule includes giant weta and tuatara at Zealandia - Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington, and kiwi in Northland's Waipoua forest - both in the North Island; kea in Fiordland, in the South Island; kakapo on Codfish Island (Whenua Hou), near Stewart Island; black robin on the remote Chatham Islands, east of New Zealand.
A one-hour episode dedicated to their New Zealand visit will air in prime time on BBC2 in late 2009.
Taste of New Zealand
"This is an excellent opportunity for us to push New Zealand's profile in the UK," Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said.
"Tourism New Zealand is working closely with the BBC to make sure Stephen and his crew have the opportunity to experience more of New Zealand beyond our native wildlife, so the programme gives viewers a real taste of what a New Zealand holiday has to offer."
Conservation techniques
Last Chance to See will portray the issues surrounding some of the planet's most threatened species and various techniques conservationists used to help them survive, and check out how the original wildlife had fared two decades on.
At the time of the original series, there were fewer than 50 kakapo, but the population has since grown to 90 birds with a bumper breeding season predicted for summer 2009.
Karori Wildlife Sanctuary also has some positive news to share with Fry and his film crew. The first tuatara eggs laid on the mainland in more than a century are due to hatch any time over the next month or two in the predator-free reserve. Four tuatara nests containing an unknown number of eggs have so far been discovered. The breeding programme is the result of relocations of 200 tuatara from Stephens Island.
More information:
Zealandia - the Karori sanctuary experience
Wildlife sanctuary tells Zealandia story
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