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D'Urville Island, New Zealand
D'Urville Island (), Māori name ', is the largest island in the Marlborough Sounds, on the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was named after the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville. With an area of approximately , it is the eighth-largest island of New Zealand, and has around 52 permanent residents. The local authority is the Marlborough District Council. History The original Māori name of the island is ''Rangitoto'', meaning "blood red sky" (''rangi'' means sky; ''toto'' means blood). It is an ancient name brought from Hawaiki, the ancestral homeland of the Māori in the Pacific. The name was later lengthened to ''Rangitoto ki te Tonga'', the suffix meaning "of the south", to distinguish it from places in the North Island called ''Rangitoto''. The official name of the island is ''Rangitoto ki te Tonga / D'Urville Island''. The island was a traditional source of argillite (''pakohe'') for Māori, used in the production of stone tools such as adzes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Information New Zealand
Land Information New Zealand (LINZ; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with geographical information and surveying functions as well as handling land titles, and managing Crown land and property. The minister responsible is the Minister for Land Information, and was formerly the Minister of Survey and Land Information. LINZ was established in 1996 following the restructure of the Department of Survey and Land Information (DOSLI), which was itself one of the successor organisations to the Department of Lands and Survey. The New Zealand Geographic Board secretariat is part of LINZ and provides the Board with administrative and research assistance and advice. The Minister for Land Information is Chris Penk. Gaye Searancke was appointed Chief Executive of Land Information New Zealand in August 2019. She succeeded Andrew Crisp, who had been in the post since 2016. Nature and scope of functions LINZ's purpose is to: *Maintain and build confidence in prop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rohe
The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew the first map of the islands of New Zealand at the request of New South Wales Governor Philip King; in which the regions of North Island were only divided by families indicated by their locations: tribes like Muaūpoko living in south of the island bore the ''mua''- ("front") affix whereas northern families like Muriwhenua were affixed ''muri''- ("back") in reference to the island believed to be a large fish caught by Māui Māui or Maui is the great culture hero and trickster in Polynesian mythology. Very rarely was Māui actually worshipped, being less of a deity ( demigod) and more of a folk hero. His origins vary from culture to culture, but many of his main expl .... See also * List of Māori iwi References External links * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand Long-tailed Bat
''Chalinolobus tuberculatus,'' known more commonly as the New Zealand long-tailed bat, the long-tailed wattle bat or pekapeka tou-roa, is a small insectivorous mammal within the genus ''Chalinolobus.'' The long-tailed bat is one of 7 species belonging to the genus ''Chalinolobus,'' which are commonly referred to as “wattled bats,” “pied bats” and “long-tailed bats." The genus ''Chalinolobus'' is characterised by fleshy lobes located on their lower lips and at the bottom of their ears. Some zoologists claim there is overlap between the ''Chalinolobus'' genus and the ''Glauconycteris'' genus. The long-tailed bat is one of two extant and three total terrestrial mammals endemic to the islands of New Zealand. The other extant species being the New Zealand Lesser Short-Tailed Bat (''Mystacina tuberculata)''. The long-tailed bat is closely related to 6 other species of wattled bats found in Australasia, namely Gould’s Wattled Bat ''(Chalinolobus gouldi)'' the largest of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellow-crowned Parakeet
The yellow-crowned parakeet (''Cyanoramphus auriceps'') also known as the yellow-fronted parakeet is a species of parakeet endemic to the islands of New Zealand. The species is found across the main three islands of New Zealand, North Island, South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura, as well as on the subantarctic Auckland Islands. It has declined due to predation from introduced species such as stoats, although unlike the red-crowned parakeet, it has not been extirpated from the mainland of New Zealand. Its Māori name is ''kākāriki''. History The yellow-crowned parakeet was once widely distributed across all of New Zealand, both the main islands and the outlying ones. However, due to both the aforementioned introduced mammals and human destruction of habitat, these parakeets have become much scarcer in the last few decades. While uncommon, they are still the most common parakeet in New Zealand. Taxonomy This species was first described by Heinrich Kuhl in 1820 and origi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kākā
The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family New Zealand parrot, Strigopidae found in New Zealand, New Zealand's native forests across the three main Islands of New Zealand. The species is often known by the abbreviated name kākā, although it shares this name with the Holocene extinction, recently extinct Norfolk kākā and Chatham kākā. Two subspecies of New Zealand kākā are recognised. It is endangered and has disappeared from much of its former range, though the re-introduction of North Island kākā at Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary), Zealandia in Wellington has led to an increasing population of the birds across the city. Taxonomy The New Zealand kākā was Species description, formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the parrots in the genus ''Psittacus'' and coined the binomial nomenclature, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Spotted Kiwi
The little spotted kiwi or little grey kiwi (''Apteryx owenii'') is a small flightless bird in the kiwi family, Apterygidae. It is the smallest of the five kiwi species, at about , about the size of a bantam. It is endemic to New Zealand, and in pre-European times occurred in both main islands, but is now restricted to a number of small offshore islands, and mainland reserves protected by pest-exclusion fences. The little spotted kiwi was on the brink of extinction when a conservation effort took place 100 years ago. Five individuals were translocated from the South Island of New Zealand to Kapiti Island. Today, the Kapiti Island population has grown, with around 1200 birds. Taxonomy The little spotted kiwi is a ratite and belongs to the Apterygiformes order, and the Apterygidae family. The genus name ''Apteryx'' means 'without wings' and the species is named ''owenii'' after Sir Richard Owen. Only the nominate subspecies ''A. o. owenii'' survives. The subspecies '' A. o. ireda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feral Pig
A feral pig is a domestic pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ... which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. The term feral pig has also been applied to wild boars, which can interbreed with domestic pigs. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are sometimes used in the United States in reference to feral pigs or boar–pig hybrids. Definition A feral organism, feral pig is a domestic pig that has escaped or been released into the wild, and is living more or less as a wild animal, or one that is descended from such animals. Zoologists generally exclude from the ''feral'' category animals that, although captive, were genuinely wild before they escaped. Accordingly, Eurasian wild boar, released or escaped into habitats w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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, Iran, and parts of western Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains of Northern Africa, being the only living species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red deer have been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. In many parts of the world, the meat (venison) from red deer is used as a food source. The red deer is a ruminant, characterized by a four-chambered stomach. Genetics, Genetic evidence indicates that the red deer, as traditionally defined, is a species group, rather than a single species, though exactly how many species the group includes remains disputed. The ancestor of the red deer probably originated in central Asia. Although at one time red deer were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Department Of Conservation (New Zealand)
The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori language, Māori: ''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 Conservation Authority, New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) is provided to advise DOC and its ministers. In addition there are 15 conservation boards for different areas around the country that provide for interaction between DOC and the public. Functions and history Overview The department was formed on 1 April 1987, as one of several reforms of the public service, when the ''Conservation Act 1987'' was passed to integrate some functions of the Department of Lands and Survey, the New Zealand Forest Service, Forest Service and the New Zealand Wildlife Service, Wildlife Service. This act also set out the majority of the department's responsibilities and roles. As a consequence of Conservation Act all Crown land in New Zealand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vortex'' is the proper term for a whirlpool that has a downdraft. In narrow ocean straits with fast flowing water, whirlpools are often caused by tides. Many stories tell of ships being sucked into a maelstrom, although only smaller craft are actually in danger. Smaller whirlpools appear at Rapids, river rapids and can be observed downstream of artificial structures such as weirs and dams. Large waterfall, cataracts, such as Niagara Falls, produce strong whirlpools. Notable whirlpools Saltstraumen Saltstraumen is a narrow strait located close to the Arctic Circle, south-east of the city of Bodø (town), Bodø, Norway. It has one of the strongest tidal currents in the world. Whirlpools up to in diameter and in depth are formed when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Te Aumiti / French Pass
French Pass (; officially gazetted Te Aumiti / French Pass) is a narrow and treacherous stretch of water that separates D'Urville Island, at the north end of the South Island of New Zealand, from the mainland coast. At one end is Tasman Bay, and at the other end the outer Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere leads out to Cook Strait. French Pass has the fastest tidal flows in New Zealand, reaching 8 knots (4 m/s). When the tide changes, the current can be strong enough to stun fish. The local tribes are Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Kuia. History In the oral tradition of some Māori tribes, Te Aumiti (French Pass) is the resting place of Kupe's pet king shag, called Te Kawau-a-Toru. Kupe was a pioneer Polynesian navigator who discovered Cook Strait in his canoe. While he was exploring Cook Strait, Kupe was attacked by a giant octopus. In the furious battle to kill the octopus, the coast was gouged into the convoluted shapes that today make up the Sounds. Kupe's loyal shag then led K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephens Island, New Zealand
Stephens Island () is at the northernmost tip of the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies two kilometres to the northeast of Cape Stephens, the northernmost point of D'Urville Island. The island is in size, and rises high from the sea. History The island was owned by the Ngāti Koata iwi but was taken by the government to build a lighthouse in 1891. The Māori people, Māori called it Takapourewa ("around the tower") but explorer James Cook, Captain Cook renamed it Stephens Island in 1770 after Sir Philip Stephens, 1st Baronet, Sir Philip Stephens, Secretary of the Admiralty. The island featured in local mythos as the place where a local lighthouse keeper's cat, named Tibbles, was claimed to have caused the extinction of Lyall's wren in 1894. However, this belief was an erroneous urban legend.Medway, D.G. (2004) The land bird fauna of Stephens Island, New Zealand in the early 1890s, and the cause of its demise. ''Notornis'', 51:201–211. While ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
