Animals

1. Te kurī

   Dog

   Usage

   Dogs; working sheepdogs are everywhere on the farms

2. Te ngeru

   Cat

   Usage

   Cats; feral ones are a serious threat to native birds

3. Te manu

   Bird

   Usage

   Birds in general; the same word runs through the Polynesian languages, including Hawaiian

4. Te ika

   Fish

   Usage

   Fish in general; the North Island is called Te Ika-a-Māui, the fish of Māui

5. Te hipi

   Sheep

   Usage

   Borrowed from English; they outnumber people in New Zealand

6. Te kau

   Cow

   Usage

   Dairy is a core industry; rural roads stop for herds crossing

7. Te poaka

   Pig

   Usage

   Feral pigs live in the hill country and are hunted

8. Te hōiho

   Horse

   Usage

   The word you need on a trail-riding tour

9. Te heihei

   Chicken

   Usage

   The word comes from the sound the bird makes

10. Te parera

    Duck

    Usage

    The native grey duck; common on park ponds

11. Te nanenane

    Goat

    Usage

    A loanword; feral goats are treated as pests that damage native forest

12. Te kiwi

    Kiwi

    Usage

    The flightless nocturnal national symbol; almost never seen wild, so most people visit a sanctuary

13. Te kea

    Kea (alpine parrot)

    Usage

    The world's only alpine parrot, in the South Island mountains; it chews car rubber and packs, so watch your gear

14. Te tūī

    Tui

    Usage

    The songbird with the white throat tuft; its huge vocal range carries into suburban gardens

15. Te kererū

    Kererū (wood pigeon)

    Usage

    A big native pigeon; you hear its heavy wingbeats before you see it

16. Te pūkeko

    Pūkeko (swamphen)

    Usage

    The blue bird with the red beak, constantly seen on roadside verges

17. Te pīwakawaka

    Fantail

    Usage

    The little bird that fans its tail and flits around walkers on the trail

18. Te kahu

    Harrier hawk

    Usage

    Often seen along highways feeding on roadkill

19. Te tuatara

    Tuatara

    Usage

    An endemic reptile from a lineage older than the dinosaurs; seen in sanctuaries and zoos

20. Te mokomoko

    Skink / lizard

    Usage

    The general word for lizards; cognate with Hawaiian "moʻo" but not the same form

21. Te wētā

    Wētā

    Usage

    A big endemic orthopteran; you may find one on a hut wall, and it is less dangerous than it looks

22. Te pekapeka

    Bat

    Usage

    New Zealand's only native land mammal

23. Te kiore

    Rat

    Usage

    Also the name of the Polynesian rat brought by the first settlers

24. Te namu

    Sandfly

    Usage

    The worst insect on the South Island's west coast; you will need this word when buying repellent

25. Te waeroa

    Mosquito

    Usage

    Regional variants such as "naenae" are also common

26. Te pōpokorua

    Ant

    Usage

    Shorter forms such as "pokorua" also exist

27. Te pī

    Bee

    Usage

    Borrowed from English; you hear it in the mānuka honey industry

28. Te pūngāwerewere

    Spider

    Usage

    The only venomous one is the rare katipō, which you are very unlikely to meet

29. Te pūrerehua

    Butterfly

    Usage

    The same word also names the traditional bullroarer instrument

30. Te ngaro

    Fly

    Usage

    The native bee is called "ngaro huruhuru", the hairy fly

31. Te papata

    Cockroach

    Usage

    A general name covering several species

32. Te poroka

    Frog

    Usage

    A loanword for the introduced frogs; the endemic species is "pepeketua"

33. Te tuna

    Eel

    Usage

    The big freshwater eel, a traditional staple; some rivers have spots where they are hand-fed. Unrelated to English "tuna"

34. Te mangō

    Shark

    Usage

    Watch the macron: "mango" without it is the English fruit

35. Te tohorā

    Whale

    Usage

    The word for whale watching at Kaikōura

36. Te aihe

    Dolphin

    Usage

    The common dolphin; the endemic Hector's dolphin has its own names such as "tūpoupou"

37. Te kekeno

    Fur seal

    Usage

    They sleep on the rocks; conservation rules ask you to stay 20 metres back

38. Te kōura

    Crayfish

    Usage

    Covers both the sea crayfish and the freshwater one; a Kaikōura speciality

39. Te pāpaka

    Crab

    Usage

    Refers to the paddle crab common on sandy beaches

40. Te wheke

    Octopus

    Usage

    In tradition the octopus also appears as a guide for voyagers

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