For decades, introduced animals transformed some of New Zealand’s remote subantarctic islands, where native plants and wildlife had evolved without large grazing mammals or land predators. Sheep were among the animals introduced to islands where people attempted to establish farming, while cats arrived alongside human settlement and ships. Removing those introduced species eventually gave some island ecosystems a chance to recover. The Department of Conservation (DOC) describes the removal of introduced pests from New Zealand’s offshore islands as an important part of restoring ecosystems that had been heavily altered by animals brought there by people. This remarkable transformation demonstrates how removing invasive species can unlock nature's inherent resilience, allowing native ecosystems to rebuild themselves once harmful pressures are eliminated entirely.
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