Dent Island, New Zealand

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. It was named by the French 1874 Transit of Venus Expedition to Campbell Island because of its resemblance to a tooth (dent in French).

Dent Island, New Zealand
Dent Island, New Zealand
Geography
Coordinates52°31.15′S 169°3.75′E
ArchipelagoCampbell Island group
Area26 ha (64 acres)
Highest elevation114 m (374 ft)[1]
Administration
New Zealand
Demographics
PopulationUninhabited
Dent Island: In the distance

Birds

The island is part of the Campbell Island group Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for several species of seabirds as well as the endemic Campbell teal and Campbell snipe.[2]

Campbell teal

The island is most famous for its Campbell teal, which was thought 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.[3][4][5][6] 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 teals have been reintroduced onto Campbell Island itself, where there is now a population of over a hundred. Rats were eventually eradicated from Campbell Island in 2001.

See also

References
  1. "Campbell Island Bicentennial Expedition". 50° South Trust. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Campbell Island (and outliers). Downloaded from "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) on 22 January 2012.
  3. Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre Archived 31 August 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Campbell Island teal head home, Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 September 2005
  5. Campbell Island Teal Release , localeye.info, 1 September 2005 Archived 7 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  6. TerraNature.org
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