Dent Island, New Zealand

Dent Island, New Zealand

Dent Island, New Zealand.
Geography
Coordinates	52°31.15′S 169°3.75′E / 52.51917°S 169.0625°E / -52.51917; 169.0625
Archipelago	Campbell Island group
Area	26 ha (64 acres)
Country
New Zealand
Demographics
Population	Uninhabited

Dent Island: In the distance

Dent Island is a subantarctic 26-hectare (64-acre) rock stack, lying 3 km west of Campbell Island and belonging to the Campbell Island group. Dent Island is located at 52°31.15′S 169°3.75′E / 52.51917°S 169.0625°E / -52.51917; 169.0625.

The island is most famous for its Campbell Teal, which were though to have been extinct for more than 100 years until a small group was rediscovered there in 1975. Dent Island is free from predators, especially the rats whose introduction on Campbell Island led to the extinction of the teal there. However, the suitable habitat for the teal on Dent Island is much more limited than its 26-hectare (64-acre) area would suggest, because a large area of the island is bare rock.

The Campbell Teal conservation programme started in 1984 when 4 birds were transferred from Dent Island to the Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre^[1][2][3][4]. In 1997, a census carried out on Dent Island showed that its Campbell Teal population had declined to dangerous levels with only three birds being found.

However the conservation and breeding has been very successful, and in recent years many teal have been reintroduced onto Campbell Island itself, where there is now a population of over a hundred. There have also been concerted efforts to remove the rats that are the teals' main predators.

See also

• Campbell Island group
• Campbell Teal
• List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
• Megaherb
• New Zealand subantarctic islands

References

1. ^ Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre^[dead link]
2. ^ Campbell Island teal head home, Wairarapa Times-Age, September 1, 2005
3. ^ Campbell Island Teal Release^[dead link], localeye.info, September 1, 2005
4. ^ TerraNature.org

External links

• Map of Campbell Island