KnowKi

Learn the wildlife of national parks

Learn the wildlife of Aoraki Mount Cook National Park

New Zealand

681 species have research-grade observations inside Aoraki Mount Cook National Park on iNaturalist. KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos, so you know what you're looking at before you go.

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Āki the kiwi, KnowKi's guide

Most recorded here

The species with the most research-grade observations on iNaturalist, and how many each has. Most recorded doesn't mean native.

Birds

  1. Paradise Shelduck Tadorna variegata264
  2. Kea Nestor notabilis149
  3. Tomtit Petroica macrocephala115
  4. Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs96
  5. Rifleman Acanthisitta chloris61
  6. Dunnock Prunella modularis59
  7. New Zealand Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae49
  8. New Zealand Falcon Falco novaeseelandiae44
  9. Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula41
  10. Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella37

Plants

  1. Golden Spaniard Aciphylla aurea342
  2. Mount Cook lily Ranunculus lyallii339
  3. Scarlet snowberry Gaultheria crassa304
  4. Large Mountain Daisy Celmisia semicordata300
  5. Matagouri Discaria toumatou216
  6. Snow totara Podocarpus nivalis188
  7. Inaka Dracophyllum longifolium183
  8. New Zealand Harebell Wahlenbergia albomarginata183
  9. Mountain toatoa Phyllocladus alpinus182
  10. Creeping Wire Vine Muehlenbeckia axillaris160

Mammals

  1. European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus70
  2. Common Brushtail Possum Trichosurus vulpecula22
  3. Eurasian Stoat Mustela erminea7
  4. Domestic Cat Felis catus5
  5. Himalayan Tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus4
  6. Brown Hare Lepus europaeus3
  7. Common Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus2
  8. Northern Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra1
  9. House Mouse Mus musculus1

Insects

  1. Mountain Stone Weta Hemideina maori74
  2. Sigaus nivalis60
  3. Canterbury Alpine Boulder Copper Lycaena tama47
  4. Common tussock butterfly Argyrophenga antipodum36
  5. New Zealand Grasshopper Phaulacridium marginale35
  6. Sigaus australis23
  7. Buff-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus terrestris20
  8. Red Damselfly Xanthocnemis zealandica15
  9. Black Mountain Ringlet Percnodaimon merula12
  10. Large Hover Fly Melangyna novaezelandiae12

Spiders and kin

  1. New Zealand Nursery Web Spider Dolomedes minor20
  2. Knobbled Orbweaver Socca pustulosa16
  3. Water Spider Dolomedes aquaticus3
  4. Novaranea queribunda3
  5. Spotted Ground Swift Spider Nyssus coloripes3
  6. Coprosma flower bud gall mite Acalitus cottieri2
  7. Gasparia rustica2
  8. Grey House Spider Badumna longinqua1
  9. European Harvestman Phalangium opilio1
  10. Barn Funnel Weaver Tegenaria domestica1

Reptiles

  1. Southern Alps Gecko Woodworthia southern alps23
  2. Jewelled Gecko Naultinus gemmeus18
  3. New Zealand Grass Skink Oligosoma polychroma5

How a trip works

A trip has its own trail of lessons: meet six species, match them to new photos, then practice with four choices. Species you learn go into your Fieldbook, and starting a trip earns its Passport stamp. Your home place stays as it is.

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Species lists and counts from research-grade observations on iNaturalist, as of October 2026. Parks outside the U.S. are from the World Database on Protected Areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, Protected Planet). KnowKi is not affiliated with the National Park Service or any park's managers. Free, with no ads, no account, and no purchases.