New Zealand’s nature is special and unique, but many people don’t know it’s also in serious trouble. More than 4000 native species are threatened or at risk of extinction – one of the highest proportions in the world.
With all eyes on the stars, what are people looking at and why? Let’s introduce the stars of Matariki and Puanga and their connection to the natural world.
If you find a New Zealand fur seal it's usually best to leave it alone, however, there are exceptions.
If there is one person who knows all about toilet paper, it’s DOC ranger Daryl Sweeney.
Bookings for Great Walks, huts, campsites and lodges are open for stays up to 30 June 2026.
Get a DOC open hunting permit online.
With a leg span of 13 cm and a 3 cm long body, the Nelson cave spider/spelungulae cavernicola is New Zealand’s largest native spider, but it’s not scary – it’s scared of us.
The 2024–25 tara iti/New Zealand fairy tern breeding season has ended, marking another successful and exciting chapter in efforts to protect one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most endangered birds.
Dozens of cameras installed on the Kaitake Range in Taranaki are revealing the success stemming from five years of intensive predator control.
The public are urged to report further sightings. A humpback whale reported entangled in rope off the coast of Moeraki has been freed, thanks to a coordinated effort between DOC’s expert whale disentanglement team, a local fishing crew, and mana whenua, Te Rūnaka o Moeraki.