Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary)

Last updated

Zealandia
Karori Wildlife Sanctuary location.jpg
Zealandia on the edge of suburban Wellington
Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary)
TypeWildlife sanctuary
Location Wellington, New Zealand
Coordinates 41°17′40″S174°45′00″E / 41.29444°S 174.75000°E / -41.29444; 174.75000
Area225 ha (560 acres)
Created1999 (1999)
Owned by Wellington City Council
Operated byKarori Sanctuary Trust
OpenAll year around except 25 December
Website www.visitzealandia.com

Zealandia, formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, [1] is a protected natural area in Wellington, New Zealand, the first urban completely fenced ecosanctuary, [2] 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 (bordering Karori) and the Brooklyn wind turbine on Polhill.

Contents

Map of Zealandia Zealandia Sanctuary map.png
Map of Zealandia

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, is a good example of an ecological island, 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 tūī and kākā in city's suburbs.

Sometimes described as the world's first mainland island sanctuary in an urban environment, [3] [4] 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 7.7-hectare (19-acre) lowland podocarp forest remnant of Riccarton bush/Putaringamotu, the 98-hectare (240-acre) Bushy Park, and the 3,500-hectare (8,600-acre) Maungatautari Restoration Project enclosing an entire mountain.

History

Visitor Centre Zealandia visitor centre.jpg
Visitor Centre

Historically about 60% of the Wellington region was covered with broadleaf forest. Karaka, kohekohe, ngaio and nīkau trees were common but there were also rātā, rewarewa and tawa with occasional podocarps like kahikatea and rimu. [5] 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. [6] Parts of the area continued to be farmed up until 1906 when the remaining catchment was purchased for the water works. [6] The upper reservoir, retained by a concrete gravity arch dam, was completed in 1908. [7] 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. [6]

Jim Lynch 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. [8] [9] The land was transferred from the Greater Wellington Regional Council to Wellington City Council in 2004. [10] The Karori Sanctuary Trust became a council-controlled organisation of Wellington City Council in October 2016, and is part-funded by the council. [11]

Pest-exclusion fence

A stretch of the fence Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Fence 02.jpg
A stretch of the fence

The most crucial aspect of the sanctuary is a pest-exclusion fence, designed to exclude 14 species of non-native land mammals ranging from deer to mice, which encircles the 8.6-kilometre (5.3 mi) perimeter of the sanctuary. [12] 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. [13] [ failed verification ]


Species to be excluded by the fence

Stoat running off after being unable to find a way through the fence.

The fence design was arrived at after trials with the various species to be excluded. [14] 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). [12]

Example of a small defect in fence mesh Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Fence 05.jpg
Example of a small defect in fence mesh

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. 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. [15] [16]

Restoration

Lower Karori Reservoir looking north-east KaroriWildlifeSanctuary.jpg
Lower Karori Reservoir looking north-east
Upper Karori Reservoir Karori Upper Dam 01.jpg
Upper Karori Reservoir

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 with small hardy trees such as mahoe dominating. Members of the original flora that are missing from the site, or rare, include large podocarp species such as rimu, matai, miro, kahikatea, and tōtara, 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. This includes a mature colony of the New Zealand fuchsia (kōtukutuku) (Fuchsia excorticata).

Species

Toutouwai, one of the many birds free to breed in the sanctuary and re-populate the surrounding environment NZ North Island Robin-3.jpg
Toutouwai, one of the many birds free to breed in the sanctuary and re-populate the surrounding environment

Awards

View of Wellington from Zealandia Panorama Wellingtona.jpg
View of Wellington from Zealandia

In 2023, Zealandia won the Supreme Tourism Award at the New Zealand Tourism Awards. It also won the Airbnb Tourism Excellence Award for Small to Medium businesses. The chief executive of Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Rebecca Ingram, said about the award: “Zealandia is everything we love about tourism: protecting our wildlife, telling our unique story, thrilling visitors and beloved by its community.” [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of New Zealand</span> Animal species of New Zealand

The animals of New Zealand, part of its biota, have an unusual history because, before the arrival of humans, less than 900 years ago, the country was mostly free of mammals, except those that could swim there or fly there (bats). However, as recently as the Miocene, it was home to the terrestrial Saint Bathans mammal, implying that mammals had been present since the island had broken away from other landmasses. The absence of mammals meant that all of the ecological niches occupied by mammals elsewhere were occupied instead by either insects or birds, leading to an unusually large number of flightless birds, including the kiwi, the weka, the moa, the takahē, and the kākāpō.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapiti Island</span> Island off the Kāpiti Coast of New Zealand

Kapiti Island, sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located 5.6 km (3 mi) off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is now a predator-free sanctuary for endemic birds, including many endangered birds. The island is 10 km (6.2 mi) long, running southwest/northeast, and roughly 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, being more or less rectangular in shape, and has an area of 19.65 km2 (7.59 sq mi).

An ecological island is a term used in New Zealand, and increasingly in Australia, to refer to an area of land isolated by natural or artificial means from the surrounding land, where a natural micro-habitat exists amidst a larger differing ecosystem. In New Zealand the term is used to refer to one of several types of nationally protected areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maud Island frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Maud Island frog has been recently been synonymised with Hamilton's frog

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orokonui Ecosanctuary</span> Fenced wildlife sanctuary north of Dunedin, New Zealand

Orokonui Ecosanctuary, called Te Korowai o Mihiwaka in Māori, is an ecological island wildlife reserve developed by the Otago Natural History Trust in the Orokonui Valley between Waitati and Pūrākaunui, New Zealand, 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north of central Dunedin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitt shag</span> Species of bird

The Pitt shag, also known as the Pitt Island shag or Featherstone's shag, is a species of bird in the family Phalacrocoracidae. It is endemic to Pitt Island where its natural habitats are open seas and rocky shores. The bird with the color of a dark body, gray chest, yellow eyes and feet can be found in small groups in their breeding habitat or alone within 18 km from their territory searching for food. The species was close to extinction in 1905 but actions of conservation have been done ever since. The Pitt shag is threatened by habitat loss due to predation and climate change causing a decline from 1997 to 2012, but there is a recovery plan by the Department of Conservation.

<i>Deinacrida rugosa</i> Species of orthopteran insect

Deinacrida rugosa, commonly called the Cook Strait giant wētā or Stephens Island wētā, is a species of insect in the family Anostostomatidae. The scientific name Deinacrida means "terrible grasshopper" and rugosa means "wrinkled". It is endemic to New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Island robin</span> Passerine species of bird native to New Zealands North Island

The North Island robin is a species of Australasian robin endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It and the South Island robin of the South Island and Stewart Island were once considered conspecific, but mitochondrial DNA sequences have shown that the two lineages split prior to the Pleistocene, and support the classification as two different species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Noises</span> Group of islands in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand

The Noises are a collection of islands lying northeast of Rakino Island in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf, off the coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The largest and most forested islands are Ōtata and Motuhoropapa; Orarapa and Maria/Ruapuke are also significant. After a rat eradication campaign in the 1960s, Maria was the first New Zealand island to become predator-free. The lack of invasive predators, intact native forest, and large numbers of breeding seabirds give the Noises significant conservation value. There has however been a marked decline in marine biodiversity surrounding the islands from over-fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brook Waimārama Sanctuary</span> Wildlife sanctuary near Nelson, New Zealand

The Brook Waimārama Sanctuary is a nearly 700 hectare mainland "ecological island" sanctuary located 6 km south of Nelson, New Zealand. The sanctuary is the largest fenced sanctuary in New Zealand's South Island and the second largest in the country; it is the only sanctuary to feature mature New Zealand beech forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bushy Park (New Zealand)</span> Forest reserve in North Island, New Zealand

Bushy Park is a native forest reserve and bird sanctuary located in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. The reserve is located eight kilometres (5.0 mi) inland from Kai Iwi and has an area of approximately 99 hectares, including the Bushy Park Homestead and grounds. The forest has a diverse range of native plant species, with canopy trees including northern rātā, rimu, tawa, and pukatea. In 1962, the forest was gifted to the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand by the former owner G. F. Moore, along with the homestead and its surrounds. The reserve is now managed by the Bushy Park Trust, in partnership with Forest & Bird and local iwi Ngā Rauru Kītahi. The forest reserve and homestead were renamed as Bushy Park Tarapuruhi in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Island saddleback</span> Species of bird endemic to the North Island of New Zealand

The North Island saddleback is a forest-dwelling passerine bird species endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It was once considered conspecific with the South Island saddleback. The IUCN lists the species as Near Threatened, while it is listed as a "recovering" species in the New Zealand Threat Classification System. Saddlebacks are known in Māori as tīeke.

Ngā Uruora - Kāpiti Project is a community conservation project set up in Paekākāriki, New Zealand in 1997 by Fergus Wheeler. It is named after the book Ngā Uruora: The Groves of Life - Ecology & History in a New Zealand Landscape by ecologist Geoff Park. The main aims of Ngā Ururoa are protecting and restoring the Kāpiti Coast's unique kohekohe forest, re-establishing forests through planting programmes, and undertaking pest and weed control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Lynch (conservationist)</span> New Zealand cartoonist and conservationist

James Robert Lynch is a New Zealand cartoonist and conservationist. Lynch is best known as the founder of eco-sanctuary Zealandia in Wellington.

<i>Oligosoma salmo</i> Species of lizard

The Chesterfield or Kapitia skink is a species of skink found in New Zealand. Only discovered in 1994 and for years not recognised as a distinct species, it is endemic to a narrow 1 km strip of coastal vegetation on the West Coast of New Zealand, 15 km north of Hokitika. There are fewer than 200 individuals remaining in the wild. Oligosoma salmo is the only New Zealand skink with a prehensile tail, suggesting it was once arboreal and inhabited coastal forest, which was subsequently cleared for dairy farming. Following the partial destruction of its remaining habitat in 2018 by a cyclone, a small captive breeding population was established at Auckland Zoo.

Wainuiomata Water Collection Area is a reserve located near Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt in the Wellington Region at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island. It is administered by Wellington Regional Council, for exclusive use by Wellington Water as a water catchment reserve. The park covers the catchments of the Wainuiomata River and the Ōrongorongo River. It adjoins Remutaka Forest Park and Wainuiomata Regional Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenfern Sanctuary Regional Park</span>

Glenfern Sanctuary Regional Park is a regional park situated near Port Fitzroy on Great Barrier Island in New Zealand's Hauraki Gulf.

Puketahā is a proposed wildlife sanctuary to be established in a water catchment reserve in Wainuiomata, New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari</span> Protected wildlife sanctuary in Waikato, New Zealand

Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, is a protected natural area in Waikato Region, New Zealand where the biodiversity of 3,400 ha of forest is being restored. The sanctuary covers the mountain peak, Maungatautari.

References

  1. ↑ "Wildlife reserve our new Zealandia". The Dominion Post . Wellington. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  2. ↑ "Home – Zealandia". Visit Zealandia. Zealandia. Retrieved 3 October 2018. Zealandia is the world's first fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary
  3. ↑ Helen Clark (7 December 2005). "Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust 10 year anniversary". beehive.govt.nz. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  4. ↑ Kate Guthrie (4 August 2016). "Doing the sums – what are the best predator control options?". Predator free NZ. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  5. ↑ Bain, Helen (November 2006). "Natural Capital". Forest & Bird (322). Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc.: 33–35. ISSN   0015-7384.
  6. 1 2 3 New Zealand Historic Places Trust. "Lower Karori Dam". The Register. New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "The New Reservoir". The Evening Post . LXXV (62): 3. 13 March 1908.
  8. ↑ Lynch, Jim (February 1995). "Back to the Future". Forest & Bird (275). Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc.: 12–19. ISSN   0015-7384.
  9. ↑ Lynch, Jim. "Jim's story: the founding of Karori Sanctuary Trust". visitzealandia.com. Karori Wildlife sanctuary Trust. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Karori Wildlife Sanctuary celebrates land transfer" (Press release). Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. Scoop. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  11. ↑ Statement of Intent 2020–2021: Karori Sanctuary Trust (PDF). Karori Sanctuary Trust. 2020. p. 23. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Zealandia Karori Sanctuary Wellington New Zealand Our Fence". Karori Sanctuary Trust website. Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust. 2011. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  13. ↑ David Attenborough (November 2000). State of the Planet. BBC Natural History Unit. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  14. ↑ Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust (1 November 1999). "Pest Eradication – main stage complete". Press release 1 November 1999. Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust. p. 3. Archived from the original on 15 December 2000. Retrieved 1 August 2017. remove ... (possums, norway rats and ship rats, mice, hedgehogs, wild cats, rabbits, hares, stoats, weasels, ferrets, goats, pigs and fallow deer)
  15. ↑ McIntosh-Ward, Nancy (9 July 2004). "Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Biosecurity Programme Detects Weasel". Press releases. Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust. Archived from the original on 13 December 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "Sanctuary showdown: intruder apprehended". Press releases. Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust. 22 February 2008. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  17. ↑ Burns, Rhys J; Bell, Ben D; Haih, Amanda; Bishop, Phillip; Easton, Luke; Wren, Sally; Germano, Jennifer; Hitchmough, Rodney A; Rofe, Jeremy; Makan, Troy (2017). "Conservation status of New Zealand amphibians, 2017" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series (25): 7.
  18. ↑ Louise Slocombe (21 August 2018). "Meet our Newest Arrivals". ZEALANDIA. Retrieved 17 October 2018. Two hundred kākahi (New Zealand freshwater mussels) have just been translocated from Wairarapa Moana and the Parangarahu lakes to the Upper Lake with the help of iwi partners,
  19. ↑ Romijn, Richard (22 December 2004). "More species of lizards found in Karori Wildlife Sanctuary". Press releases. Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  20. ↑ Green, Kate (23 March 2021). "Zealandia reservoir to be drained to remove a tonne of pesky perch". Stuff. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  21. ↑ Johnson, Jacob (1 May 2021). "Zealandia's perch eradication project underway to get rid of 22,000 fish". TVNZ. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  22. ↑ Knell, Conor (8 November 2023). "Zealandia wins national tourism award" . www.thepost.co.nz. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
News
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.