There is likely no nation more enamoured with birds than New Zealand; bird song marks 7 a.m. on public radio, its people describe themselves as Kiwis (after the native flightless bird), and every year one species is crowned the Bird of the Year in a popular vote.
So, the discovery last week of two birds infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has rattled nerves. Millions of birds worldwide have died after becoming infected with the strain, and bird lovers worry it could pose an extinction risk to some of the South Pacific nation’s most prized natural treasures.
One of the last large landmasses inhabited by humans, New Zealand’s isolated islands had no predatory mammals for millions of years. It was a bird’s paradise that gifted the country a raft of striking unique species, from the kākāpō, a cheeky flightless and nocturnal parrot, to the takahē –– a colourful, almost dinosaur-looking, ground-dwelling creature.
In a rare step few countries have tried, New Zealand is now rushing to vaccinate 300 breeding pairs of five critically endangered native species to protect them from the virus.
“These birds are only found in New Zealand; they’re not found anywhere else in the world, so it’s important to us.” said the country’s biosecurity minister Andrew Hoggard last week.
The highly contagious H5N1 strain of bird flu has carved a murderous path across the globe, after first nesting in Europe in 2020. And it has infected mammals too, including foxes, polar bears, tigers, sea lions and even, on scarce occasions, humans.
No one yet knows just how New Zealand’s native birds will fare if a mass outbreak occurs.
“Some species might not notice it at all, and some will die in large numbers,” warned Mary van Andel, the primary industries ministry’s chief veterinary officer.
Anticipating the pathogen’s arrival, New Zealand had been regularly testing thousands of birds for the last year.
While only two infected birds have been found, both alive, the country already seems on a war footing –– with some poultry producers locking free-range hens indoors, the country’s oldest zoo cancelling close-encounter experiences with penguins, and the public being warned not to touch or move dead wildlife.
Oceania had been the world’s only region free of the deadly bird-flu strain until last month, when an infected seabird was discovered on a Western Australian beach. In both Antipodean countries, the virus was first found in the same type of subantarctic seabird –– the brown skua, an aggressive scavenger that is prone to attacking like a crow.
The absence of predatory mammals for such a long time put New Zealand on a different evolutionary path, where a select group of native birds like kiwi, kākāpō, takahē, and weka felt so save to roam on the forest floor that they never needed to fly.
Since the arrival of humans and bird-killing mammals some 700-odd years ago, more than a fifth of the native species have been wiped out. Among those lost was the Haast Eagle, once the largest eagle on earth, and its prey, the towering South Island Giant Moa – a wingless ostrich-looking creature, standing 3.6-meters high, that was the world’s tallest bird.
Today, more than half of the 93 endemic species that remain are considered to be “in serious trouble” (on the brink of extinction), according to a 2017 government report.
Some are considered to be creatures from a prehistoric age, like the takahē, the kiwi and the kākāpō – the only parrot on the planet that can’t fly and a bird that found global fame after one called Sirocco tried to mate with the head of a zoologist on a British documentary. (The bird’s comically aggressive, bobbing action in the footage is widely thought to have inspired the spinning, flashing “party parrot” emoji).
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Bird flu is a real concern for the fate of the kākāpō because most of the population, totalling just 235, lives on one tiny island sanctuary that lies off the wild coast of Rakiura/Stewart Island.
“There are a lot of seabirds coming in there that the kākāpō might interact with… and that’s a higher risk for that particular species,” Ash Murray, the biosecurity manager at the country’s conservation department, told CNN.
The virus spreads primarily through the droppings and saliva of infected birds, meaning seabirds and other species that gather in large groups are at a greater risk. So too are scavengers like eagles and hawks that feast on rotting remains.
Notably absent from the list of birds being vaccinated, though, is the kiwi –– the iconic national bird. Murray said that is because there are a higher number (around 70,000) of kiwi, many live in the wild, and they don’t generally congregate in large groups. Two of the rarest breeds –– the rowi and the Haast tokoeka kiwi –– will likely be part of the next phase of the vaccination program.
At the Ōamaru penguin colony, where tourists gather at sunset to watch hundreds of native little blue penguins come ashore after a day’s fishing, visitors are now being asked to wash their shoes with disinfectant on arrival because the virus can be carried on footwear.
“We’ve initiated those sorts of measures to protect the birds,” said Dr. Philippa Agnew, science and environment manager at Ōamaru Penguins.
There are about 700 penguins at the colony in the picturesque coastal town in the South Island, and 500 more at another nearby. Having so many in one place heightens the risk.
“Little penguins are only found in New Zealand and Australia…So, it’s really an unknown, the level of impact,” said Agnew. Penguins have been known to die from the virus overseas, though, not in mass numbers.
The colony also has a population of New Zealand fur seals that laze around the rocks frequented by flocks of seabirds. Agnew is “definitely concerned” about them too. “It would be quite upsetting to see losses of our seals and sea lions,” she told CNN.
In June, scientists revealed that the virus had wiped out an estimated 13,000 seal pups living on the subantarctic Heard and McDonald Islands southwest of Australia –– three-quarters of the population of pups there. Drone footage they collected showed legions of seal carcasses littering the islands’ grayish volcanic shores.
New Zealand boasts more than 200,000 fur seals in its waters, a population that’s only just bounced back after millions were hunted into near extinction by European sealers in the early 1800s. But officials are much more concerned about the fur seal’s larger cousin, the New Zealand sea lion, of which there thought to be fewer than 5,000 mature adults.
“It is significantly rarer,” said Murray. “So, we’re keeping a close eye on that species.”
Globally, the species most devastated by the pathogen in raw numbers is the humble chicken. When poultry get infected, there is a near-zero chance of survival, so governments across the world have embarked on mass slaughter campaigns in infected farms to slow the spread. In the United States alone, at least 174 million chickens have been killed.
New Zealand’s biosecurity minister has warned that the country will follow a similar path, should a widespread outbreak occur. That could leave eggs and chicken in short supply on supermarket shelves, so the public are already being warned by grocers not to panic buy.
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And officials certainly aren’t panicked by bird flu’s arrival. Being last has given the country years to plan, which Murray called a “massive advantage.”
Now, it’s just a matter of trying to manage it.
“It’s here forever… It will be about helping our species best adapt to that new threat,” he said.
