KnowKi

Learn the wildlife of national parks

Learn the wildlife of Rakiura National Park

Southland · New Zealand

1,216 species have research-grade observations inside Rakiura 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. Weka Gallirallus australis280
  2. Red-crowned Parakeet Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae218
  3. South Island Saddleback Philesturnus carunculatus208
  4. Yellowhead Mohoua ochrocephala198
  5. New Zealand Kaka Nestor meridionalis176
  6. Southern Brown Kiwi Apteryx australis137
  7. Variable Oystercatcher Haematopus unicolor108
  8. New Zealand Bellbird Anthornis melanura101
  9. Tomtit Petroica macrocephala92
  10. Pipipi Mohoua novaeseelandiae86

Plants

  1. Crown Fern Lomaria discolor186
  2. Rimu Dacrydium cupressinum175
  3. New Zealand spider-orchid Corybas oblongus139
  4. Easter Orchid Earina autumnalis130
  5. Inaka Dracophyllum longifolium122
  6. Southern rātā Metrosideros umbellata116
  7. Lancewood Pseudopanax crassifolius111
  8. Muttonbird Scrub Brachyglottis rotundifolia106
  9. Lantern Berry Luzuriaga parviflora96
  10. Azorella lyallii94

Mammals

  1. New Zealand Sea Lion Phocarctos hookeri135
  2. White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus36
  3. Common Brushtail Possum Trichosurus vulpecula21
  4. Domestic Cat Felis catus18
  5. Long-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala melas9
  6. Leopard Seal Hydrurga leptonyx4
  7. Black Rat Rattus rattus3

Insects

  1. Forest Semilooper Declana floccosa23
  2. Talitropsis sedilloti17
  3. Common Forest Looper Pseudocoremia suavis16
  4. Green Carpet Owlet Ichneutica plena16
  5. Buff-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus terrestris15
  6. Wirerush Looper Aponotoreas synclinalis13
  7. Helms's Stag Beetle Geodorcus helmsi13
  8. Ichneutica atristriga12
  9. Crux boudica12
  10. Izatha huttonii11

Spiders and kin

  1. Pantopsalis phocator11
  2. Knobbled Orbweaver Socca pustulosa11
  3. Forsteropsalis chiltoni9
  4. New Zealand Nursery Web Spider Dolomedes minor7

Reptiles

  1. Harlequin Gecko Tukutuku rakiurae15
  2. Small-eared skink Oligosoma stenotis12
  3. Southern Skink Oligosoma notosaurus9
  4. New Zealand Grass Skink Oligosoma polychroma3

Mollusks

  1. Tasmanian Blue Mussel Mytilus planulatus17
  2. Snakeskin Chiton Sypharochiton pelliserpentis15
  3. Spotted Top Snail Diloma aethiops15
  4. Ostrich Foot Snail Struthiolaria papulosa15
  5. Pipi Paphies australis14
  6. Rhytida australis10
  7. New Zealand Cockle Austrovenus stutchburyi10
  8. New Zealand Ribbed Mussel Aulacomya maoriana8
  9. Blackfoot Paua Haliotis iris7
  10. Arabic Volute Alcithoe arabica6

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.