Mount Cook, Sorth Island, New Zealand Photograph by © WWF/Kevin SCHAFER   Central region of New Zealand's South Island Montane Grasslands and Shrublands   15,400 square miles (39,900 square kilometers) -- about half the size of Maine Relatively Stable/Intact

· Snow-Covered Peaks
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Snow-Covered Peaks

The mighty Southern Alps run in a north-south direction for 280 miles (450 km) on South Island. This wet and snowy mountain chain includes Mount Cook, or Aoraki--the highest point in New Zealand at 12,316 feet (3,754 m). The Southern Alps are young mountains that started rising only 7 million years ago. In fact, they are still rising, with Aoraki gaining .2 inches (5 mm) per year. But natural erosion rates are high, making this region one of the most geologically unstable in New Zealand.

Special Features

To the east lies the arid "high country," the large grasslands in the Alps’ rain shadow. This area was carved and sculpted by glaciers during the last ice age. It consists of wide, open valleys and intermontane basins with tussock grasslands and matagouri--a sharp, spiky shrub. The light-brown tussock grasslands extend endlessly, broken only by a chain of great glacial lakes and braided rivers. There are no forests on the high mountain slopes, partly because of natural factors (climate, lack of soil) and partly because of human actions. Each spring, the striking alpine flowers bloom, including the mountain daisy and the giant mountain buttercup.

	Keas were hunted by farmers over the last century, dramatically reducing their numbers. The farmers claimed that the parrots attacked their sheep, causing death and injury. Keas are now protected by law, and it appears that the farmers’ claims were greatly exaggerated.

Wild Side

The large braided rivers provide feeding grounds for wading and migratory birds such as black-fronted terns, banded dotterels, South Island pied oystercatchers, and pied stilts. The endemic wrybill can be seen in braided riverbeds, foraging for invertebrates. This rare wader has an unusual bill that curves to the right, enabling it to easily flip over rocks in search of food. Also, the dainty black stilt hunts for insects in the braided rivers, moving its long bright-pink legs nimbly through the river. This endemic species is one of New Zealand’s most endangered birds. Farther north, in the mountains, only one bird is capable of staying the winter: the endemic rock wren. This diminutive green-and-yellow bird approaches a physiological state similar to hibernation in order to survive the harsh winters. The noisy calls of the kea, a highly inquisitive parrot, ring out as the bird forages in the alpine zone.

Cause for Concern

A great deal of this ecoregion has been modified for pastoral use and human settlement. Fires threaten native vegetation, and feral and introduced animals have a devastating effect on native wildlife and vegetation.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.