Zealandia, formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected natural area in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand, the first urban completely fenced ecosanctuary, where the biodiversity of 225 ha (just under a square mile) of forest is being restored. The sanctuary was previously part of the water catchment area for Wellington, between

Wrights Hill Wright an occupational surname originating in England, meaning worker or shaper of wood. Wright or Wrights may also refer to: Places Earth ;Australia * Wright, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Wright, federal electoral division in ...

(bordering

Karori Karori is a suburb located at the western edge of the urban area of Wellington, New Zealand, 4 km from the city centre and is one of New Zealand's most populous suburbs, with a population of in History Origins The name ''Karori'' used ...

) and the Brooklyn wind turbine on Polhill. Zealandia Sanctuary map

Most of New Zealand's ecosystems have been severely modified by the introduction of land mammals that were not present during the evolution of its ecosystems, and have had a devastating impact on both native flora and fauna. The sanctuary, surrounded by a

pest-exclusion fence 280px, Xcluder pest-exclusion fence around perimeter of Maungatautari A pest-exclusion fence is a barrier that is built to exclude certain types of animal pests from an enclosure. This may be to protect plants in horticulture, preserve gras ...

, is a good example of an

ecological island An ecological island is a term used in New Zealand, and increasingly in Australia, to refer to an area of land (not necessarily an actual island) isolated by natural or artificial means from the surrounding land, where a natural micro-habitat exist ...

, which allows the original natural ecosystems to recover by minimising the impact of introduced flora and fauna. The sanctuary has become a significant tourist attraction in Wellington and is responsible for the greatly increased number of sightings of species such as tui and

kākā The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family Nestoridae found in New Zealand's native forests. The species is often known by the abbreviated name kākā, although it shares this name with the recen ...

in city's suburbs. Sometimes described as the world's first mainland island sanctuary in an urban environment, the sanctuary has inspired many similar projects throughout New Zealand, with predator-proof fences now protecting the biodiversity of many other areas of forest. Examples include the lowland podocarp forest remnant of

Riccarton bush Riccarton is a suburb of Christchurch. It is due west of the city centre, separated from it by Hagley Park. Upper Riccarton is to the west of Riccarton. History On 12 April 1840, the ship ''Sarah and Elizabeth'' landed Herriot, McGillivray, ...

/ Putaringamotu, the 98 hectare

Bushy Park Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...

and, the 3500 hectare

Maungatautari Restoration Project Maungatautari is a mountain, rural community, and ecological area near Cambridge in the Waikato region in New Zealand's central North Island. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "mountain of the upright st ...

enclosing an entire mountain.

History

Historically about 60% of the Wellington region was covered with broadleaf forest. Karaka, kohekohe, ngaio and

nikau ''Rhopalostylis sapida'', commonly known as nīkau ( mi, nīkau), is a palm tree endemic to New Zealand, and the only palm native to mainland New Zealand. Etymology is a Māori word; in the closely related Eastern Polynesian languages of th ...

trees were common but there were also

rata Rata may refer to: Biology * Some plants of the genus ''Metrosideros'' from New Zealand, including: ** ''Metrosideros albiflora'' (Large white rātā) ** ''Metrosideros bartlettii'' (Bartlett's rātā or Cape Reinga white rātā) ** '' Metrosider ...

rewarewa ''Knightia excelsa'', commonly called rewarewa (from Māori), is an evergreen tree endemic to the low elevation and valley forests of New Zealand's North Island and Marlborough Sounds (41° S) and the type species for the genus ''Knightia''. ...

and tawa with occasional podocarps like

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was fir ...

and

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...

. The whole sanctuary valley was covered with this sort of forest until European settlement of the area and the large fires in 1850 and 1860 that cleared the land to be used for farming. The lower reservoir, retained by an earth dam, was completed in 1878. Parts of the area continued to be farmed up until 1906 when the remaining catchment was purchased for the water works. The upper reservoir, retained by a concrete gravity arch dam, was completed in 1908. From this point, as the whole valley was a protected water catchment area for Wellington city, the slopes were re-vegetated with introduced trees and the native forest also began regenerating. The upper dam was decommissioned as a reservoir about 1991, the lower one in 1997.

Jim Lynch James Robert Lynch (August 28, 1945 – July 21, 2022) was an American football linebacker. Lynch played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, where he was named an All-American and won the Maxwell Award in 1966. Lynch is a memb ...

promoted the idea of a wildlife sanctuary. The "Natural Wellington" project identified the reservoir catchment as having special significance because it is a large self-contained habitat suitable for a wide variety of native plants and animals. In 1993 a feasibility study was carried out by the Wellington regional and city councils and after public consultation in 1994, the idea of a sanctuary was given the go-ahead. The Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust was formed in mid-1995 to implement the proposed 'mainland island' wildlife sanctuary. The project was featured in The Guardian in 2022.

Pest-exclusion fence

The most crucial aspect of the sanctuary is a

, designed to exclude fourteen species of non-native land mammals ranging from deer to mice, which encircles the 8.6 km perimeter of the Sanctuary. Construction of the fence was completed in late 1999 and all mammalian pests within the perimeter were then eradicated over a nine-month period. This predator-proof fence is of great conservation significance, being a world first design to bar all terrestrial mammals from mouse size up.

Species to be excluded by the fence

Black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

Cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

Ferret The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), evidenced by their interfertility. Other must ...

* Goat *

Hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The gen ...

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction ...

* Mouse * Norway rat *

Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

* Rabbit * Possum * Stoat *

Weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...

The fence design was arrived at after trials with the various species to be excluded. Its main features are a small mesh size (to exclude animals down to the size of a mouse), a curved top-cap (to prevent animals climbing over) and an underground foot (to prevent animals burrowing underneath). File:KWS fence scale.jpg, Mesh size File:Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Fence 04.jpg, Top cap detail File:Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Fence 03.jpg, Footer

In terms of its meeting conservation goals, the sanctuary has met with considerable success due to the design of the perimeter fence. The fence and ongoing monitoring have successfully kept the sanctuary free of all but the smallest species – the

house mouse The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the order Rodentia, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus '' Mus''. Although ...

. It is thought that small defects in the fence mesh (damaged during construction) allowed mice to re-enter the sanctuary. Modifications to the fence have been considered in an attempt to permanently exclude mice, but meanwhile, mouse numbers are monitored and controlled. There have been occasional breaches of the fence by weasels and rats, these occasional incursions are not unexpected (for example resulting from storm damage bringing trees down upon the fence), and are picked up by on-going monitoring with tracking tunnels.

Restoration

The flora and fauna in the sanctuary are recovering from its pre-managed degraded state. Although the original primary forest has been regenerating since 1906, it is still only in the early stages of

succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

with small hardy trees such as mahoe dominating. Members of the original flora that are missing from the site, or rare, include large

podocarp Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pr ...

species such as

, matai, miro,

, and

totara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane ...

, are being re-established. Northern rātā has also virtually disappeared from the valley and a number of seedlings have been planted. A wide variety of native trees, of benefit to native fauna, is already present including a mature colony of the New Zealand tree fuchsia, ''Fuchsia excorticata''.

Species

* Native birds that have been released in the sanctuary since 2000 include: ** Bellbird, New Zealand () (''Anthornis melanura'') **

Brown teal The brown teal (''Anas chlorotis''; mi, pāteke) is a species of dabbling duck of the genus ''Anas'' native to New Zealand. For many years it had been considered to be conspecific with the flightless Auckland and Campbell teals in ''Anas auckla ...

() (''Anas chlorotis'') (4 pair released 2000-11-03) **

Kākā The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family Nestoridae found in New Zealand's native forests. The species is often known by the abbreviated name kākā, although it shares this name with the recen ...

, North Island (''Nestor meridionalis'') (3 released 2002-08-24) **

Kākāriki The three species of kākāriki (also spelled ''kakariki'', without the macrons), or New Zealand parakeets, are the most common species of parakeets in the genus '' Cyanoramphus'', family Psittacidae. The birds' Māori name, which is the most c ...

, red-fronted parakeet (''Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae'') (23 released 2010-July-02) ** Little spotted kiwi () (''Apteryx owenii'') (20 released 2000-07-04) ** Pigeon, New Zealand () (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae'') (10 released 2002 to 2005) ** Robin, North Island () (''Petroica longipes'') (40 released 2001-05-11) ** Saddleback, North Island () (''Philesturnus rufusater'') (39 released 2002-06-16) ** Scaup, New Zealand () (''Aythya novaeseelandiae'') (1 pair released 2002-05-03) **

Stitchbird The stitchbird or hihi (''Notiomystis cincta'') is a honeyeater-like bird endemic to the North Island and adjacent offshore islands of New Zealand. Its evolutionary relationships have long puzzled ornithologists, but it is now classed as the o ...

() (''Notiomystis cincta'') (30 released 2005-02-17) **

Takahē The South Island takahē (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand and the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently e ...

, South Island (''Porphyrio hochstetteri'') (2 released 2011-01-28) **

Tomtit The tomtit (''Petroica macrocephala'') is a small passerine bird in the family Petroicidae, the Australasian robins. It is endemic to the islands of New Zealand, ranging across the main islands as well as several of the outlying islands. In ...

, North Island () (''Petroica macrocephala toitoi'') ** Weka, North Island (''Gallirallus australis'') (4 pair released 2000-06-16) ** Whitehead () (''Mohoua ochrocephala'') (released 2001, 2002) ** Rifleman () (''Acanthisitta chloris)'' (60 birds released 2019) * Other native animals that have been released since 2000 include: ** 70 tuatara, ''Sphenodon punctatus'', from Stephens Island (released December 2005). ** 100

giant weta In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fro ...

** 21

Maud Island frog __NOTOC__ The Maud Island frog (''Leiopelma pakeka'') is a primitive frog native to New Zealand, one of only four extant species belonging to the family Leiopelmatidae. Description ''Leiopelma pakeka'' is a small terrestrial frog, growing to 5& ...

s (2006) ** Spotted skink (''Oligosoma kokowai'') (2016) ** 200 New Zealand freshwater mussel () (2018) * Other native species that are naturalised without needing transfers from outside the area include: **Birds ***

Black shag The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

() (''Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae'') *** Fantail, North Island () (''Rhipidura fulginosa placabilis'') *** Falcon, New Zealand () (''Falco novaeseelandiae'') *** Grey warbler, New Zealand () (''Gerygone igata'') *** Little black shag () (''Phalacrocorax sulcirostris'') *** Little shag () (''Phalacrocorax melanoleucos brevirostris'') *** Pied shag, New Zealand () (''Phalacrocorax varius varius'') ***

Morepork The morepork (''Ninox novaeseelandiae''), also called the ruru, is a small brown owl found in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and formerly Lord Howe Island. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of t ...

() (''Ninox novaeseelandiae'') ***

Silvereye The silvereye or wax-eye (''Zosterops lateralis'') is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is more commonly used to refer to all membe ...

() (''Zosterops lateralis'') ***

Shining cuckoo The shining bronze cuckoo (''Chrysococcyx lucidus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae, found in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It was previously also known as ''Cha ...

() (''Chrysococcyx lucidus lucidus'') *** Tui (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') Lower reservoir, Zealandia with valve tower

** Reptiles *** Raukawa gecko (''Woodworthia maculata'') *** Ngāhere gecko (''Mokopirirakau aff. granulatus 'Southern North Island) *** Brown skink (''Oligosoma zelandicum'') *** Northern grass skink (''Oligosoma polychroma'') *** Copper skink (''Oligosoma aeneum'') *** Ornate skink (''Oligosoma ornatum'') * Non-native species ** Perch. In 2021 the water level in the lower reservoir was reduced by six metres to enable eradication of the introduced European perch which were eating native fish species and polluting the water with algal bloom.

References

External links

ZEALANDIA

Karori Sanctuary Trust

Some thoughts on predator exclusion fences
;News
''Meet the Locals'' (TVNZ) segment on KWS

''Asia Downunder'' (TVNZ) segment about Zealandia
{{Authority control Articles containing video clips Nature reserves in New Zealand Protected areas of the Wellington Region Tourist attractions in Wellington City Wildlife sanctuaries of New Zealand Parks in Wellington City Urban forests in New Zealand