Anchor Island () is an island in
Dusky Sound
Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park.
Geography
One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wi ...
in
Fiordland
Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...
.
The New Zealand
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...
gives a translation of "large hill" for .
The island is situated southwest of the much larger
Resolution Island in the inlet area of Dusky Sound and surrounded by many smaller islands and contains four small lakes, including
Lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
Kirirua, the largest lake on an island in Fiordland.
The island is part of the
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 National parks of New Zealand, national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering , and a major part of the Te WÄ ...
and since 2005 is one of few island sanctuaries that are home to the critically endangered
kÄkÄpÅ
The kÄkÄpÅ (; : ; ''Strigops habroptilus''), sometimes known as the owl parrot or owl-faced parrot, is a species of large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the superfamily Strigopoidea. It is endemic to New Zealand.
KÄkÄpÅ can be u ...
.
Red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...
and
stoats
The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...
had been eradicated between 2001 and 2005, and subsequently endangered endemic birds including
tīeke (saddleback),
mohua (yellowhead) and
kÄkÄpÅ
The kÄkÄpÅ (; : ; ''Strigops habroptilus''), sometimes known as the owl parrot or owl-faced parrot, is a species of large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the superfamily Strigopoidea. It is endemic to New Zealand.
KÄkÄpÅ can be u ...
, have been relocated to the island. The island is one of only nine islands in the area that is completely free of introduced mammalian pests and is from the New Zealand mainland, which makes it relatively safe from repeat incursions by stoat and deer.
Anchor Island is one of the predator free islands as part of the
Fiordland Islands restoration programme, the programmes focus is to eradicate pests and translocate native species.
KÄkÄpÅ
Pukenui is home to the endangered species kÄkÄpÅ. The first kÄkÄpÅ were transferred to Pukenui in 2005 after stoat eradication in 2001. These birds are managed by the KÄkÄpÅ Recovery Team, which is a part of the
New Zealand Department of Conservation
The Department of Conservation (DOC; MÄori language, MÄori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage.
An advisory body, the New Zealand ...
.
Pukenui has
rimu
''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...
forest, an important food source for the species.
The first known breeding of kÄkÄpÅ on Pukenui occurred in 2011, leading to two infertile eggs. KÄkÄpÅ bred again on the island for the 2016 and 2019 kÄkÄpÅ breeding seasons. As of 23 January 2022, all mature female kÄkÄpÅ on the island have bred. Nests have been found for 17 of the 21 birds.
See also
*
List of islands of New Zealand
New Zealand consists of more than six hundred islands, mainly remnants of Zealandia, a larger land mass now beneath the sea. New Zealand is the List of island countries#UN member states and states with limited recognition, sixth-largest island ...
*
List of islands
This is a list of the lists of islands in the world grouped by country, by continent, by body of water
A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refer ...
*
Desert island
An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...
References
Uninhabited islands of New Zealand
Islands of Fiordland
Fiordland National Park
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