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Also called Stewart Island, Rakiura Island is the smallest and southernmost of New Zealand’s three main islands. Visitors to Rakiura experience an unspoiled wilderness similar to what the Maoris would have seen when they first arrived. This small, rugged island is sparsely inhabited and was not overrun with introduced species like many of the surrounding islands. This ecoregion also includes the tiny Snares Islands, located to the southwest of Rakiura. These granite islands host 23 different species of breeding seabirds on their sparsely vegetated shores.
Rakiura Island was connected to South Island during the Pleistocene epoch, but now the shallow Foveaux Strait separates the two. Vegetation was established on the island as the climate began to warm at the end of the last period of glaciation, about 14,000 years ago. Birds carried in the heavy podocarp (podocarpus is a type of southern conifer) seeds, while lighter rata seeds were blown here by the winds. The native vegetation here includes evergreen trees and shrubs such as rata, kamahi, and miro, and the forests are filled with birds. Supported by a wet and windy climate, these are the southernmost podocarp forests in the world. The Snares Islands are true oceanic islands and were not connected to mainland New Zealand during the last ice age.
The last viable population of kakapo was discovered on Rakiura Island in1977 and was quickly captured and moved to other islands as part of intensive captive breeding and reintroduction efforts. This highly endangered endemic bird is the world’s largest parrot and the only flightless one. These parrots are easy prey for introduced mammals, especially during their three- to five-month breeding season when the males congregate each night at display grounds, calling loudly to attract mates. The kakapo is the only New Zealand bird, the only parrot, and the only flightless bird with this lek mating system. The Stewart Island kiwi spends its days on dunelands and tussock grasslands, in search of insects. It is the only diurnal (active during the day) kiwi; all the other kiwis are nocturnal. A wide variety of forest birds can be seen here, including tuis, bellbirds, and fantails, while greater short-tailed bats fill the skies at night. A Stewart Island subspecies of weka (flightless woodhen), robin, and fernbird can all be found here as well. The southern subspecies of New Zealand dotteral is found only on Stewart Island. This squat, tame wader breeds on the mountaintops on Rakiura and then moves down to estuaries. The rare harlequin gecko, one of the world’s southernmost lizards, lives among subalpine cushion plants here. The nearby Snares Islands are completely overrun by breeding birds, with nearly 3 million pairs of sooty shearwaters, which build burrows, and endemic Snares crested penguins.
The biggest threat to wildlife here is the introduction of non-native species. Some mammalian predators, such as cats and rats, have already been introduced on Rakiura Island with disastrous consequences. Native birds would be enormously depleted if other carnivores were ever introduced. In the past, whaling, seal harvesting, timber milling, tin mining, and fishing were all major industries in this ecoregion. Today, Rakiura’s 500 inhabitants are involved in tourism and sustainable fishing. For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report. All text by World Wildlife Fund © 2001
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