Two sea lions bulls fight it out on Enderby, on the Auckland Islands.
The five subantarctic island groups are some of the most pristine places on Earth and an important breeding ground for seabirds and marine mammals, vital while nature loss is at an unprecedented level in the history of mankind.
But the estimated cost was between $60-100 million over 10 years. And with the country’s borders closed to fend off the coronavirus pandemic, Department of Conservation boss Lou Sanson says he decided to put the programme on hold as revenue from international tourism dried up.
Transport to the uninhabited archipelago, which lies 465 kilometres from the South Island, was complicated by charter vessels being deployed overseas and investigations into a helicopter crash at the islands in 2019.