New Zealand isn't exactly swarming with people. 50 per square mile, 5 million people overall, not a very densely populated place, but what would you expect from Middle Earth? However, even a few people was still too much for the auk, the only alpine parrot in the world. The auk is highly endangered and was previously thought to be in even more trouble because of the loss of their alpine environment. But as a new study has shown, the auk isn't as specialized as previously thought. In a comparison with another New Zealand parrot that lives in forested areas, no significant genomic difference was found regarding living at high altitude. The auk isn't specifically adapted to living in the mountains; it could live wherever it wants. It chooses to limit itself, and the scientists behind the study theorized it was trying to avoid people, a completely understandable reason. People are dumb.
Funny enough, the fact that the auk isn't actually specialized for mountain life may prove to be the species' salvation as its habitat disappears. They could literally just move somewhere else and be fine. For now though, they'll probably stick with the mountain life. I can certainly think of worse places to live than the mountains of New Zealand, though you don't want to get stuck in a mountain fortress while 10,000 Uruk-Hai trap you in. That wizard won't always show up at dawn of the fifth day.
No comments:
Post a Comment