New Zealand's endangered species to get new "ambassador"

The New Zealand government on Thursday named its first "Threatened Species Ambassador" in a bid to help save some of the country's hundreds of endangered species from extinction.

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry announced author and conservationist Nicola Toki was to take the role within the Department of Conservation (DOC) to build partnerships and encourage New Zealanders to become involved in conservation efforts.

"As a nation, we face a major battle to save our threatened species. Our unique native wildlife is besieged by introduced pests and other threats," Barry said.

"We must all work together to save them and the ambassador will be pivotal to making that happen."

New Zealand had more than 800 threatened species and with another 2,700 species were classified as "at risk."

National carrier Air New Zealand has agreed to help support the ambassador for two years, as part of an ongoing partnership with DOC worth more than 7 million NZ dollars (4.61 million U.S. dollars).

New Zealand's threatened species include the national bird, the kiwi, which the government has said could be extinct in the wild within two generations, as well as the world's smallest dolphin, the Maui's dolphin, which is believed to have a population of just 55.