Prior to human settlement, the mammals of New Zealand consisted of just three species of bat, and a large number of marine mammal

Marine mammal

Marine mammals, which include seals, whales, dolphins, and walruses, form a diverse group of 128 species that rely on the ocean for their existence. They do not represent a distinct biological grouping, but rather are unified by their reliance on the marine environment for feeding. The level of...

 species.

The Māori brought the kurī

Kuri

Kuri can refer to:*Kurī, Māori dog*Kuri , West African breed of cattle*Kuri , kitchen in a Zen monastery, Japanese Chestnut*The Kuri subgroup of Yuin–Kuric indigenous Australian languages...

 and kiore in about 1250 CE, and European visitors form 1769 onwards brought the pig

Pig

A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...

, mice

MICE

-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...

, two extra species of rats, weasel

Weasel

Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....

s stoat

Stoat

The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...

s, ferret

Ferret

The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...

s and possum

Possum

A possum is any of about 70 small to medium-sized arboreal marsupial species native to Australia, New Guinea, and Sulawesi .Possums are quadrupedal diprotodont marsupials with long tails...

s and many other introduced species, many of which are causing huge conservation

Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

 problems for many indigenous species, including the mammals.

Indigenous species

• Three species of bats: the Long-tailed
  New Zealand Long-tailed Bat
  The New Zealand Long-tailed Bat, Chalinolobus tuberculata , also known as the Long-tailed Wattled Bat or Pekapeka-tou-roa , is one of 15 species of bats in the genus Chalinolobus variously known as "pied bats", "wattled bats" or "long-tailed bats"...
  
  , Short-tailed
  New Zealand greater short-tailed bat
  The New Zealand Greater Short-tailed Bat was one of two species of New Zealand short-tailed bats, a family unique to New Zealand. It lived on the North and South Islands in prehistoric times and historically lived on small islands near Stewart Island/Rakiura. Short-tailed bats were as adept at...
  
   and Lesser Short-tailed
  New Zealand Lesser Short-tailed Bat
  The Lesser Short-tailed Bat, Mystacina tuberculata or Pekapeka-tou-poto in Māori, is one of only two species of short-tailed bats in the family Mystacinidae, which is endemic to New Zealand.-Description:...
  
  
• Several dozen species of whale
  Whale
  Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
  
  s and dolphin
  Dolphin
  Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
  
  s including the small endemic Hector's Dolphin
  Hector's Dolphin
  Hector's dolphin is the best-known of the four dolphins in the genus Cephalorhynchus and is found only in New Zealand. At about 1.4 m in length, it is one of the smallest cetaceans....
  
  
• Seven species of seal
  Earless seal
  The true seals or earless seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal superfamily, Pinnipedia. All true seals are members of the family Phocidae . They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from the fur seals and sea lions of the family Otariidae...
  
   or sea lion

Conservation status

• The New Zealand Greater Short-tailed Bat
  New Zealand greater short-tailed bat
  The New Zealand Greater Short-tailed Bat was one of two species of New Zealand short-tailed bats, a family unique to New Zealand. It lived on the North and South Islands in prehistoric times and historically lived on small islands near Stewart Island/Rakiura. Short-tailed bats were as adept at...
  
   is considered critically endangered (CE)
  IUCN Red List
  The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
  
  , while both the other bats are considered vulnerable.
• The Sei
  Sei Whale
  The sei whale , Balaenoptera borealis, is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water...
  
  , Fin
  Fin Whale
  The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long...
  
   and Blue whale
  Blue Whale
  The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales . At in length and or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed....
  
  s are all endangered (EN)
  IUCN Red List
  The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
  
  , and is the Hector's Dolphin
  Hector's Dolphin
  Hector's dolphin is the best-known of the four dolphins in the genus Cephalorhynchus and is found only in New Zealand. At about 1.4 m in length, it is one of the smallest cetaceans....
  
   which is found only in New Zealand waters.

The Department of Conservation rank priorities for conservation with the New Zealand Threat Classification System

New Zealand Threat Classification System

The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand....

.

Introduced species

Māori introduced two species kurī

Kuri

Kuri can refer to:*Kurī, Māori dog*Kuri , West African breed of cattle*Kuri , kitchen in a Zen monastery, Japanese Chestnut*The Kuri subgroup of Yuin–Kuric indigenous Australian languages...

 (dog) and the kiore (Polynesian rat) and European settlers introduced many other mammal species.

Mammals introduced by Europeans

Species	Date of introduction	Notes
Black rat Black Rat The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
Cat Cat The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...	as early as 1820
Chamois Chamois The chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand...
Common Brushtail Possum Common Brushtail Possum The Common Brushtail Possum is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, it is native to Australia, and the largest of the possums.Like most possums, the Common Brushtail is nocturnal...	1837
Elk Elk The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...  (Wapiti)
Fallow Deer Fallow Deer The Fallow Deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to western Eurasia, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It often includes the rarer Persian Fallow Deer as a subspecies , while others treat it as an entirely different species The Fallow...	1864
Ferret Ferret The ferret is a domesticated mammal of the type Mustela putorius furo. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur...	1879	Introduced in an unsuccessful attempt to control rabbits
Goat Goat The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...	late 1700s
Hare Hare Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...	1851
Hedgehog Hedgehog A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the order Erinaceomorpha. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand . There are no hedgehogs native to Australia, and no living species native to the Americas...	1870
Himalayan thar
Mice MICE -Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...
Moose Moose The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...	1900, 1910	The last reliable sighting was in 1952
Norway rat	1800s
Pigs	1773, 1777
Rabbit Rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...	1838	A major pest
Red Deer Red Deer The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...	from 1851
Sambar Deer Sambar Deer The Sambar ' is a large deer native to southern and southeast Asia. Although it primarily refers to R. unicolor, the name "Sambar" is also sometimes used to refer to the Philippine Deer and the Rusa Deer...	1875-76
Stoat Stoat The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...
Wallaby Wallaby A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
Weasel Weasel Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
White-tailed deer White-tailed Deer The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

Agricultural animals such as cattle and sheep were also introduced, as well as alpacas and llamas.