Moa's Ark : To the Lifeboats

The possums are all asleep because they are nocturnal. But as soon as night comes, they'll be out taking their pick from this great gourmet banquet of vegetarian dishes.

– David Bellamy on the harm possums cause to the forest ecosystem, in part two

Safe at the moment on their cliffs, these specialised plants can cope with a lot of things, but not with teeth. And the possum army isn't very far away.

– David Bellamy on the threat possums pose to native plant species, in part three

"To the lifeboats!" became the cry of conservation, as the horizon was scanned for other islands, but most were already occupied by the invaders. The list of these unwanted passengers was so long that it wasn't going to be an easy voyage.

– David Bellamy on establishing predator free island sanctuaries, in part three

This isn't a zoo at all, this is the real thing, and that's the difference. The minute that you move birds — or any animal, really — to an offshore island, or into a zoo if you like, you're taking a gamble. And, it's sort of really, in ecological terms, ‘bucket chemistry’, in that you don't really know how the birds are going to survive. You can take some reasonable guesses, but the best guess is, of course, that they're living here. They've been here for thousands of years, and why not leave them here?

– Department of Conservation officer, Alan Saunders on mainland sanctuaries, in part five

Every time a species goes to the wall of extinction, it becomes more difficult not only to keep Moa's Ark afloat, but also to save the world. The whole world is dying because we, in our struggle for survival, are destroying the very fabric of the natural systems that hold the world together. New Zealand is showing how we can put at least parts of it back into working order.

– David Bellamy on New Zealand’s role in global conservation efforts, in part 5