2020 saw the start of two global pandemics. Covid-19, of course, but also H5N1 bird flu. The latter has swept around the world leaving millions of dead wild birds and marine mammals in its wake. It has reached everywhere – except Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Alison Ballance has been finding out why this strain of bird flu is so deadly, and what we are doing to get ready for its possible arrival on our shores. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Guests:Dr Kate McInnes, Department of ConservationDr Megan Jolly, Wildbase Hospital, Massey UniversityDr Mary van Andel, Ministry for Primary IndustriesRob Schuckard, Birds New ZealandDavid Melville, Birds New ZealandLearn more:Read the article that accompanies this episode: A deadly bird flu strain is coming. Are we ready?Find out about Biosecurity NZ’s bird flu surveillance work and what New Zealand is doing to prepare for the possible arrival of avian influenza.The Exotic Pest and Disease Hotline for reporting suspected bird flu is 0800 80 99 66.The Department of Conservation is preparing for the possible arrival of H5N1 bird flu in New Zealand.Claire Concannon spoke about viruses, including H5N1 bird flu, with virologist Professor Jemma Geoghegan, winner of the 2024 Prime Minister's Te Puiaki Whakapā Pūtaiao Science Communication Prize.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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26:24
Wild Sounds: The new podcast feed for nature
If you like Our Changing World, you should find and follow Wild Sounds: RNZ's new podcast feed dedicated to incredible natural science stories from New Zealand! Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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0:33
Tracking turtles
In late 2024 a cluster of sick green sea turtles washed up around the Rangaunu Harbour on the east coast of the Far North. It was just another mystery in a long line of all the things we don’t know about these ocean taonga. But a new telemetry study, using these very turtles, could change all that. The study has officially kicked off with the release of five satellite-tagged honu. Liz Garton finds out what secrets the researchers hope to uncover.From now on Our Changing World will appear on Tuesdays in your podcast feed!Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.Guests:Dr Karen Middlemiss, Department of ConservationDr James Chatterton, Auckland ZooCeline Campana, Auckland ZooKim Evans, SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton’sLearn more:Find out more about the honu that visit our shores.RNZ’s Peter de Graaf describes the release of the first lot of satellite-tagged turtles in Northland.Learn more about the international effort to protect leatherback turtlesGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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28:47
The Chatham Island tūī translocation
One from the archives! By the 1990s Chatham Island tūī had all but disappeared from the main island. Slightly different to their mainland counterparts, these songbirds had survived on nearby Pitt and Rangatira islands. So a local conservation group decided to try bring them back. In this episode from 2010, Alison Ballance joins the ‘tūī team’ tasked with moving 40 birds from Rangatira island back to the main island. From now on Our Changing World will arrive in your podcast feed first thing on a Tuesday morning!Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.In this episode:00:00 – 02:30 Introduction and background info02:30 – 12:14 Catching tūī on Rangatira Island12:15 – 12:24 Team has caught 40 birds12:25 – 24:46 Moving the birds to main Chatham Island24:47 – 25:55 Update on the birds…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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26:00
Wildfire science heats up
Smoke explosions. Fire tornadoes. Burning couches. It all happens in the fire lab: a purpose-built facility where researchers can safely set stuff on fire and study how it burns, for science. New Zealand experiences 4,500 wildfires every year, with the risk ramping up due to climate change. We visit the fire lab to watch a large gorse bush go up in flames and learn how this helps us prepare for future wildfires. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.In this episode:01:54–09:39 – Watching a gorse bush burn in the fire lab10:45–12:43 – Burning couches, smoke explosions and fire tornadoes12:44–19:08 – Mini burn experiments and how research is preparing for wildfires of the future19:08–23:32 – Kate's experience as a wildland firefighter in Canada…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Dr Claire Concannon follows scientists into the bush, over rivers, back to their labs and many places in-between to cover the most fascinating research being done in Aotearoa New Zealand.
New Zealand