Critter of the Week

[2] The topic of spotlighting uncharismatic species was raised in an interview by Mulligan in April 2015,[3] and the programme originated later in 2015 in a discussion between Mulligan and Toki about threatened bird conservation, in which Toki lamented a lack of attention and corporate funding for species such as the Smeagol gravel slug.

[5] Each week's broadcast is supported by a team of volunteers, referred to by Mulligan as the "wikinerds", who improve the Wikipedia article for the species in question.

[2][6] In 2018 and in subsequent years artist Giselle Clarkson designed t-shirts and tea towels featuring a selection of species that had appeared on the programme.

Nicola Toki became chief executive of Forest & Bird in April 2022,[9] but continued with the RNZ weekly programme.

The Critter of the Week project was the subject of a lightning talk by Mike Dickison for the 2018 ESEAP Conference in Bali, Indonesia.

[12] Critter of the Week and the role of Wikipedia editors was featured in Forest & Bird magazine in June 2023.