Fight for the Wild takes viewers into the wild heart of Aotearoa and documents the desperate battle to protect it. It explores the notion of a Predator Free 2050 and asks whether this big, bold initiative is achievable - and if so, how?

Series Synopsis

Every year an army of introduced predators devours the eggs and chicks of some 26 million native New Zealand birds, as well as countless insects, amphibians, reptiles and plants.  We currently have more than 4000 natives on the threatened species list and many more vulnerable to predation – New Zealand’s catalogue of shame. 

But in 2016, the nation decided enough was enough. Predator Free 2050 was born — an eviction order served on the three most voracious predators — rats, stoats and possums. It’s our most ambitious conservation effort ever and is to be enforced by hundreds of thousands of ordinary Kiwis. 

In Fight for the Wild we walk with the kaitiaki, ecologists, inventors and community trappers desperately defending our taonga species. We follow the fortunes of kea, kiwi, kakariki and other native species and discover the fascinating initiatives underway as we come to their rescue. We examine the tough choices our nation needs to make as we navigate the challenges of protecting our wildlife. And among the hard decisions and desperate losses, we discover bold visions, hard won victories and hope. 

Fight for the Wild is a call to action for all New Zealanders.  It tells how each of us holds a piece of a jigsaw, and how, if we all play our part, we might just see a wilderness saved and our Wild returned. 

Made possible by the RNZ/NZ On Air Innovation Fund.

29 Apr 2021  - https://www.rnz.co.nz/wild