Exchange
I wish that Australia and NZ can swap more species , but Australian Quarantine standards are quite strict , and ours are EXTREMELY so !
From NZ I wish we can offer you kiwis , morepork , kea , kaka , weka , tui , bellbird , wood pigeon , fantail , pukeko ... . A nocturnal facility is required for the kiwi and morepork ( they are compatible together ) and all the others except the kea would be compatible with humans in a walk through enclosure . Although keas are not aggressive , they are incredibly curious -- and are not afraid of humans . All it will take is for someone to tease one and offer them a finger , and the keas will investigate the finger with their beak ( read amputate )
Just as well that they prefer to live in alpine regions ( yeah , I know -- silly place for a parrot to live ... ) as they would attack other birds .
I wish we could also send you giant weta and kauri snail as anthropods
A giant weta is an ugly ( though generally harmless ) insect a bit like a bush cricket but the size of a dinner plate and weighs about the size of a rat ...I think it is the second largest insect in the world ( and I will rank it last as far as beauty is concerned )
The kauri snail is almost as large as a saucer and is carnivorous .
We could also send you the last of the dinosaur -- the tuatara . It looks like it is covered in steel plate armour , but it really is soft ( and almost squashy )
It looks like a lizard , but it isnt one . It has 2 teeth -- the top jaw and the bottom jaw . Despite that it usually is fairly placid , and a keeper can handle it while giving a talk ( I have been lucky enough to stroke one once )
Apart from the giant weta and kauri snail , the other animals are not that endangered ( unlike the kakapo ) and the birds that I selected are ones that have some sort of unique characteristic or has some "visitor charm " Kaka look just like a drab parrot , but are friendly towards humans . You can all recognise a pigeon , but a large woodpigeon would be almost the size of a turkey
In return , you could send us wombats , some of your more colourful parrots
tree kangaroos , reptiles ( unfortunately , all snakes found in NZ are destroyed first and identified later )