Ulva Island (from ) is a small island about long lying within Paterson Inlet, which is part of

Stewart Island / Rakiura Stewart Island (, 'Aurora, glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island wit ...

in New Zealand.

Geography

It has an area of , of which almost all is part of

Rakiura National Park Rakiura National Park is a nature reserve park located on Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand. It is the newest National parks of New Zealand, national park of New Zealand and opened in 2002. The protected area covers about 85% of the island. ...

. It was named after the island of

Ulva Ulva (; ) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, off the west coast of Mull. It is separated from Mull by a narrow strait, and connected to the neighbouring island of Gometra by a bridge. Much of the island is formed from Cen ...

in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides ( ; ) is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which experience a mild oceanic climate. The Inner Hebrides compri ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and was formerly called Coopers Island.

Biodiversity

Ulva Island's relative isolation, but easy access from Stewart Island has allowed it to become an important natural resource area. It is a sanctuary for both birds and plants, holding species that on the mainland of New Zealand are rare or have died out. In 1997, the island was declared rat-free, following an eradication programme, and

extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...

birds have been reintroduced to the island. The birds include the

South Island saddleback The South Island saddleback or tīeke (''Philesturnus carunculatus'') is a forest-dwelling passerine bird in the New Zealand wattlebird family which is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Both the North Island saddleback and this speci ...

(), yellowhead () and Stewart Island robin. Other birds on the island that are rare on the mainland include the Stewart Island subspecies of

southern brown kiwi The southern brown kiwi, tokoeka, or common kiwiDavies, S. J. J. F. (2003) (''Apteryx australis'') is a species of Kiwi (bird), kiwi from South Island of New Zealand. Until 2000 it was considered Conspecificity, conspecific with the North Islan ...

(),

rifleman A rifleman is an infantry soldier armed with a rifling, rifled long gun. Although the rifleman role had its origin with 16th century hand cannoneers and 17th century musketeers, the term originated in the 18th century with the introduction o ...

(), yellow-crowned and red-fronted parakeet, and South Island

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 kn ...

or forest parrot, as well as several other species. The

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

yellow-eyed penguin The yellow-eyed penguin (''Megadyptes antipodes''), known also as hoiho, is a species of penguin endemic to New Zealand. It is the sole extant species in the genus ''Megadyptes''. Previously thought closely related to the little penguin (''Eud ...

uses the island for breeding sites. The shortest distance across the water from Rakiura to Ulva Island is around , and this is within the swimming range of Norway rats. There have been more than 20 rat incursions detected between 1997 and 2022. The gestation period of Norway rats is 3 weeks, so a population can build up quickly. In 2022, the Department of Conservation announced that a rat incursion in February had not been successfully contained, and that rats had spread to other parts of the island, posing a significant threat to the most vulnerable species on the island. The Predator Free Rakiura trust commented that the discovery of rats on Ulva Island provided support for the need to eradicate predators on mainland Rakiura. The Department of Conservation currently maintains the public portion of the island including its predator free status. A small portion of the island (approximately between

Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora language, Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central ...

and Post Office Bay) is privately owned. The liverwort species '' Lophocolea mediinfrons'' is thought to be endemic to northeastern Ulva Island.

References

External links

Ulva Island
at the Department of Conservation {{coord, -46.934, 168.131, region:NZ_type:isle, display=title Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Islands of the Southland Region Stewart Island Island restoration Birdwatching sites in New Zealand

Geography

Biodiversity

See also

References

External links