2017-03-04 Sat

Did you know that New Zealand had very cute blue ducks on their banknotes?

While the Dodo bird is the only extinct animal to appear on a banknote, there are many endangered animals that have made appearances on currency. The whio or blue ducks appear on the reverse of the 10 dollar note of New Zealand which was in circulation from 1999 to 2013.

The blue duck, whose scientific name is Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand. The ducks primarily live in mountainous regions of New Zealand, an iconic species of clear fast-flowing rivers. Blue duck is a much-localised species now threatened by predation from introduced mammals such as stoats, competition for its invertebrate food with introduced trout, and damming of Mountain Rivers for hydroelectric schemes.

It is listed as Nationally Endangered in the New Zealand Threat Classification System. In 2009 the New Zealand Department of Conservation started a ten-year recovery programme to protect the species at eight sites using predator control and then re-establish populations throughout their entire former range, but their endangered status appears to be short-lived.

Many species are on the verge of extinction and with the increasing poaching activities, logging, deforestation and human intervention. We will soon witness a mass extinction in near future! It's upon us to save our planet and our fellow planeteers...let’s join hands and strive for a long co-habitation!