South Island
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Area | 150437 |
|---|---|
| ISO 3166-2:NZ | NZ-S |
| Population | 1. 038 million (Jun 2011) |
| Points of interest | Aoraki / Mount Cook |
| Did you know | When Britain annexed New Zealand in 1840, the South Island briefly became a part of New South Wales. |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 1098899 |
About South Island
The South Island of New Zealand is renowned for its mountains, lakes and glaciers. The Southern Alps, home to 3,724m-high Aoraki Mt. Cook, run along the entire length of the island. In the southwest is Fiordland National Park, with steep-sided Milford Sound. In the north is Abel Tasman National Park, known for its trails and ocean kayaking. Queenstown is famed for adventure sports like bungee jumping and skiing.
New Zealand birds: Takahe facing extinction find new home in sanctuary
... Last week, 18 takahe were released in mountains in South Island to try to boost a small population in the wild...
New Zealand seeks to exterminate predators to save native birds
... The largest, three times the size of Zealandia, in Nelson in the South Island...
New Zealand cat-killing competition for children axed after backlash
... The event had been announced as part of a June fundraiser hunt for a local school in Canterbury on the South Island...
Dozens of pilot whales die at notorious New Zealand beach
... Wildlife officials said the pod was first spotted on Thursday, beached across three kilometres of Farewell Spit on the South Island...
New Zealand: Scientists discover rare baby ghost shark
... 7 miles) underwater near the South Island...
International Garden Photographer of the Year winners revealed
... Wildlife in the Garden, Second Place: Common Green Grasshopper, taken in the Red Butte Garden, Salt Lake City, Utah, US, by Ecaterina LeonteWildlife in the Garden, Third Place: Dunnock, taken in Padregnana, Lombardy, Italy, by Danilo Ernesto MelziAbstract Views, First Place: Amaryllis and Honesty, taken in West Yorkshire, England, UK, by Ian GilmourAbstract Views, Second Place: Dancer, taken in Kraichgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, by Thorsten ScheuermannAbstract Views, Third Place: Arrangement for Crete, taken in Rockland County, New York, US, by Laurie PeekBeautiful Gardens, First Place: Greenery by the Pond, taken in Arboretum Wojsławice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, by Bożena PiotrowskaBeautiful Gardens, Second Place: Abundance, taken in Airfield Estate Gardens, Dundrum, County Dublin, Ireland, by Anna-Louise HallyBeautiful Gardens, Third Place: The Heart of the Garden, taken in Arboretum Wojsławice, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, by Bożena PiotrowskaBreathing Spaces, First Place: Bamford Beauty, taken in Peak District National Park, Derbyshire, England, UK, by Lee HowdleBreathing Spaces, Second Place: One Tree Hill, taken in Devon, England, UK, by Adam BurtonBreathing Spaces, Third Place: The King, taken in Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, Argentina, by Andrea PozziPlants & Planet, First Place: Na Pali Coast, taken in Kauai Island, Hawaii, US, by Stuart ChapePlants & Planet, Second Place: Rotation, taken in Plitviče Lakes National Park, Croatia, by Mauro BattistelliPlants & Planet, Third Place: Painted Forest, taken in Painted Hills, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon, US, by Xin ZhongThe Beauty of Plants, First Place: Controluce, taken in Mantua, Lombardy, Italy, by Gianluca BeniniThe Beauty of Plants, Second Place: Dwarf Poppy, taken in Trzebinia, Małopolska, Poland, by Magdalena WasiczekThe Beauty of Plants, Third Place: Mysterious Blue, taken in Cangshan Mountain, Dali, Yunnan Province, China, by Hailei ZhengThe World of Fungi, First Place: Mycena Swirl, taken in Marbury Country Park, Cheshire, England, UK, by Tony NorthThe World of Fungi, Second Place: Triple-headed Comatricha, taken in Buckinghamshire, England, UK, by Barry WebbThe World of Fungi, Third Place: Sulphur Tufts, taken in Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve, Lancashire, England, UK, by Tony NorthTrees, Woods & Forests, First Place: The Wooden Army, taken in The Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, Italy, by Luigi RuoppoloTrees, Woods & Forests, Second Place: Highland Lochan, Autumn, taken in Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK, by Ross BrownTrees, Woods & Forests, Third Place: Foggy Snow Gum, taken in Thredbo, Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia, by Anne NeiwandWildflower Landscapes, First Place: Wildflower Explosion, taken in Carrizo Plain National Monument, California, US, by Dennis FratesWildflower Landscapes, Second Place: Lupins at Dawn, taken in Lake Tekapo, South Island, New Zealand, by Gigi WilliamsWildflower Landscapes, Third Place: Poppies and Cornflowers, taken in Castelluccio di Norcia, Umbria, Italy, by Gianluca GianferrariAll pictures are subject to copyright...
Covid: New Zealand PM Ardern cancels wedding amid Omicron wave
... A family who had attended a wedding in Auckland tested positive after returning home to the South Island...
Rare Antarctic penguin accidentally travels 3,000km to New Zealand
... He eventually got through to Thomas Stracke, who has been rehabilitating penguins on New Zealand s South Island for about 10 years...
New Zealand birds: Takahe facing extinction find new home in sanctuary
By Joel GuintoBBC News
Two flightless takahe were released at a New Zealand sanctuary in the latest effort to stop some of The World 's rarest birds becoming extinct.
The pair, Waitaa and Bendigo, sprinted out of their cages to cheers from The Crowd at Zealandia in Wellington.
Last week, 18 takahe were released in mountains in South Island to try to boost a small population in The Wild .
Due to Predators , but a small number were found in 1948.
Their discovery in remote grasslands of the Murchison Mountains on the South Island sparked conservation efforts that have raised the population to close to 500.
Takahe are plump birds with a strong red beak, stout legs and Bright Blue and green feathers. They Grow Up to the size of a large hen and can weigh as much as 3kg (6. 6lb). They are often mistaken for pukeko swamp hens that are visibly thinner, according to New Zealand 's Department of Conservation (Doc).
The takahe breed only once a year, raising one to two chicks, and live up to 18 years in The Wild and 22 years in sanctuaries. They Live on a high-fibre diet of starchy leaves and Seeds .
already released at North Island 's Zealandia sanctuary, which is ringed by a predator-exclusion fence.
New Zealand 's native birds evolved before The Ascent of mammals and are vulnerable to predation by land Predators introduced by human settlers.
The release last week of nine breeding-age pairs at Greenstone Station in The Lake Whakatipu area was an attempt to establish a third wild population on South Island where The Birds have a special cultural and spiritual significance.
The Other wild populations are in Fiordland's Murchison Mountains and in Kahurangi National Park , where takahe were first released in 2018.
" After decades of Hard Work to increase the takahe population, it's rewarding to now be focusing on establishing more wild populations, but It Comes with challenges, " said Doc's Deidre Vercoe after last week's release.
" Establishing new wild native species populations can take time and success is not guaranteed. If we want takahe to thrive, we need to explore new sites and learn as much as we can to protect The Birds now and into The Future . "
Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand , consider the takahe as being taonga - A Treasure that should be protected.
Conservationists have long worked to control the populations of the takahe's Predators - stoats, feral cats, ferrets and rats.
Before The Most recent wildlife release in Greenstone Station, conservationists installed 45 ferret traps and 25 cat traps.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources considers the South Island takahe as endangered or three steps from extinction. It has marked the North Island takahe as extinct.
Related TopicsSource of news: bbc.com
