Our unlikely intrepid pair are back for another season of discovery, and the timing could not be better.
Nicola Toki and Pax Assadi emerge from deep waters of the Hauraki Gulf in a state of ecstasy. They’ve just had some rare one-on-one time with an enormous happy manta ray, and neither can contain their excitement. “Holy moly, thats one of the coolest things we’ve ever done on the show,” gushes Toki. “It’s like you’re a kid again right? And that’s the bit we lose when we are adults. I want it for my kid, and your kid, to have these experiences, and for us to remember what it is like to feel that magic.”
Magic is a pretty good word for Endangered Species, a local nature documentary series that takes a big swing by championing exclusively native wildlife and landscapes over Attenborough’s staggering savannahs and star-nosed moles. Hosted by “New Zealand’s favourite bird nerd” Nicola Toki and “humble comedy legend” Pax Assadi, the show traverses the far reaches of the country and tracks down our most vulnerable species, while also giving a gentle and compassionate education to those of us who might not have, as they say, touched grass in a while.
“Do you know what you are hearing?” Toki asks Assadi as they enter the forest of Tiritiri Matangi. “Lots of birds at once?” shrugs Assadi. “…Also known as?” she goads, as if encouraging a small child. Assadi’s eyes light up – one season down and he’s finally retained some information. “…The dawn chorus!”
There’s a lot to love about Endangered Species, but Toki and Assadi as a comedy duo is unbeatable. She takes the lead and brings enthusiasm and expertise, and he tags along as the wide-eyed and wise-cracking plus-one who, more often than not, just seems to want to take every critter home with him. “Is that for us to takeaway?” Assadi says, eyeing up a tiny tītipounamu in a cloth bag on Tiritiri Matangi. When they find an impossibly plush looking petrel chick, he’s at it again. “Nicola,” he whispers. “It’s a fluffy baby bird… It’s really cute.” Pause. “… Can I have it?”
Supporting the duo on their quest are a raft of remarkable volunteers, coordinators, rangers and experts. Up north, they catch a glimpse of the rare tara iti, or fairy tern, the most critically endangered bird in the country with only 30-odd left. “There’s more people caring for them now than there are birds,” DOC’s Alex Wilson explains, adding some good news – they’ve had nine chicks survive from the last breeding season. “Your enthusiasm and your positivity in the face of a very challenging situation is incredibly inspiring,” says Toki.
Speaking of challenging situations, there’s also volunteers Simon and Morag who devote their days to helping monitor the tītipounamu, the smallest bird in the country that weighs no more than a postcard, and has a call so high it cannot be heard by most people. Toki and Assadi sit back to back in awe, watching the pair gently band the tiny legs and weigh their tiny bodies. A little bird that brings about huge joy in Assadi in particular. “I felt its wing flap against my face!” he gushes, star struck, after they release one back into the air.
The show itself has as lightness of a touch to rival Simon and Morag, spending just enough time with each new species to deepen our understanding without ever dragging. It’s also not afraid to break the fourth wall, cutting back from the sweeping opening teaser to both hosts looking perplexed in the recording booth. “Feels like we are really stretching the budget this year,” says Toki. “I know, but I’ve run the numbers Nicola,” says Assadi, punching sums furiously into a calculator that one can only assume is displaying the joke number 80085, “and we’re good to go.”
Endangered Species is also peppered with nods to the impacts of colonisation and how some of the species relate to te ao Māori. When we travel to Tiritiri Matangi, there’s a history lesson in how the native forest was cleared for farming in the 1800s, and how the tītipounamu were traditionally viewed as messengers to Tāne Mahuta, god of the forest. In show that proudly champions everything that Aotearoa has to offer, hopefully more of these historical and cultural links keep being made and more voices of tangata whenua included.
Back on the boat in the Hauraki Gulf after coming face to face with the mighty manta ray, Toki and Assadi are still brimming with glee. Assadi in particular looks like he has had something close to a spiritual encounter. “When you have experiences like this, it does spark something in you that dies when you spend a lot of time in the city,” he says. “It makes you suddenly want to protect all of it. This is our planet, and it is beautiful.”
