Dent Island, New Zealand

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Dent Island, New Zealand.

Dent Island: In the distance

Dent Island is a sub-Antarctic 26 ha 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.

The island is most famous for its Campbell Island 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 lead 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 area would suggest, because a large area of the island is bare rock.

The Campbell Island Teal conservation programme started in 1984 when 4 birds were transferred from Dent Island to the Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre. In 1997, a census carried out on Dent Island showed that the Campbell Island 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.