What would New Zealand be without kiwi? Without Fiordland rainforest, or the haunting call of kōkako? If we run down our ecosystems, and thin out the ocean, is the weight of that loss not greater than the commodity value of the timber or tonnage of fish?

The 196th issue of New Zealand Geographic is out in stores and online now! In stores and online at nzgeo.com

Like last year, we are presented with a stark set of choices: survive, grow, or die.

Andrew Penniket and Richard Robinson have spent decades diving in New Zealand, always hoping to see a hāpuku. No joy. The giants were gone. Until this winter, when we caught wind of an extraordinary rumour…

Remember the Magic Eye books of the 90s?? Now, you can have a crack at viewing New Zealand’s native flowers in 3D. Clematis, orchid, ngutukākā, korukoru, oioi… this is a luscious, spectacular feature by @rebekahwhite.bsky.social, based on the new book He Puāwai by @theobrominated.bsky.social

You start flying,” says Aqua Reekie. “There’s the sound of the ice popping beneath you, and beyond that, silence.” Alexandra’s obsession with wild ice skating, documented by Becki Moss and @ellenrykers.com

Fangs! Leg hairs! Venom profiles! Writer ‪@michelleduff.bsky.social‬ and photographer @robsuisted.bsky.social take a closer look at the noble false widow, the exotic spider that’s quietly set up home in New Zealand.

A tiny silly fun thing in the midst of all the chaos... We're on the hunt for a mate for Ned, a 1 in 40,000 left-spiralling snail. www.nzgeo.com/stories/lets...

Radio genius Claire Concannon turned my @nzgeo.bsky.social albatross story into a much cooler albatross podcast. It’s out today! www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/v...

We know that some plants are less likely to catch ablaze than others. Can we use them to help slow or stop wildfires? www.nzgeo.com/stories/how-...

A year on from Cyclone Gabrielle ... this is an absolutely stunning piece by @rachelmorris.bsky.social and Lottie Hedley @nzgeo.bsky.social www.nzgeo.com/stories/cycl...

Twelve months on from Cyclone Gabrielle, many people are still fighting to return home. Our investigation: www.nzgeo.com/stories/cycl...

Honestly, it probably has something to do with fish.

A quick overview from me on the latest international climate agreement we just signed up to

@alexverry.bsky.social & I had fun talking with Bill Morris @nzgeo.bsky.social about our #ancientDNA mahi on takahē & moho (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....), & why the #fossil record is key to informing evidence-based conservation management of these taonga www.nzgeo.com/stories/did-...

Even as far away as #Antarctica, the news arrived that ngutukākā is Aotearoa's favourite plant of the year! Here's my @nzgeo.bsky.social story about the quest to save it in the wild www.nzgeo.com/stories/too-...

Extreme weather is revealing ancient relics all around New Zealand, and our experts can’t get to them all in time.

I had fun talking to @rebekahwhite.bsky.social for this @nzgeo.bsky.social piece. Such an important message about the help we need from private collectors, the public, & tangata whenua to be our fossil forecasters so we can save our biological heritage before it is lost www.nzgeo.com/stories/pala...

Scientists have created a flood-forecasting system for New Zealand, but can't put it into practice without free access to MetService weather data.

If octopuses are colour-blind, how do they camouflage themselves? And why do cuttlefish make better lab subjects?

There are just too many kina, tipping marine ecosystems out of balance. Could we solve the problem by eating them? One start-up is betting we can. But first, they're trying to improve the flavour...

Two scientists mapping New Zealand's light pollution have found our nights became a lot brighter over the past decade, reports @naomiarnold.bsky.social Most of our public lighting is now bright blue-white LEDs, which negatively affect human and animal health. But there are other options...

Bitterns are so hard to find that this story took us longer to make than every other story we've published (except one). It took a few years, but finally, @ellenrykers.bsky.social and Craig McKenzie tracked the birds down. And yes, they always look this weird.

A new study reveals that New Zealand’s huge ocean territory contains two billion tons of carbon, locked in the seafloor—but trawling releases it. New Zealand also happens to be the only nation still trawling on the high seas of the South Pacific.