<
https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/03/initiative-sets-sights-on-rewilding-three-new-zealand-islands/>
"Three New Zealand islands will join an international initiative to remove
invasive species and restore native wildlife.
With the addition of Maukahuka (Auckland) Island, Rakiura (Stewart) Island and
Chatham Island, the Island-Ocean Connection Challenge (IOCC) will have 20
ongoing projects aimed at restoring and rewilding 40 globally significant
island-ocean ecosystems by 2030.
“New Zealand’s three IOCC island restoration projects will be the largest and
most challenging our country has ever attempted,” New Zealand Department of
Conservation (DOC) national eradication manager Stephen Horn told
Mongabay by
email. He added that each island in the new initiative is 4-15 times larger
than the biggest island in the country that has been previously cleared of
invasives.
“Their scale, remoteness from the mainland, difficult terrain, wild weather,
multiple animal pest species, and the presence of human settlements for two of
the three islands pose unique challenges,” Horn added.
Maukahuka Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to more than 500
native plant and animal species, including the endangered Gibson’s albatross
(
Diomedea antipodensis gibsoni), New Zealand sea lion (
Phocarctos hookeri)
and hoiho (
Megadyptes antipodes), a rare penguin. But with the introduction
of mice, feral cats and pigs, 32 native bird species are no longer present on
the island.
Rakiura, New Zealand’s third-largest island, is home to the tokoeka or brown
kiwi (
Apteryx australis) and other native species. Researchers plan on
reintroducing the critically endangered kākāpō (
Strigops habroptilus) once
the island is cleared of invasive species like rats, feral cats, hedgehogs, and
possums."
Via
Fix the News 288: Hofstader’s Butterfly
https://fixthenews.com/288-hofstaders-butterfly/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
