Cuvier Island

Cuvier Island
Repanga (Māori)
Cuvier Island
Location of Cuvier Island.
Geography
Coordinates 36°26′S 175°46′E / 36.433°S 175.767°E
Country

Cuvier Island is a small island off the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the seaward end of the Colville Channel, 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the Mercury Islands and approximately 23 km (14 mi) south-east of Great Barrier Island. The island is a wildlife sanctuary, managed by the Department of Conservation and is the subject of an ongoing island restoration project to eliminate non-native mammals and restore the original ecosystem.[1] It is also the location of the Cuvier Island Lighthouse which was constructed in 1889.

Important Bird Area

The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because of its small breeding colony of vulnerable Pycroft's Petrels.[2]

Name

The Māori name of the island is Repanga. The name Cuvier was given by D'Urville, naming it after Baron Cuvier[3]

See also

References

  1. Cuvier Island restoration (from the Department of Conservation website)
  2. BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Cuvier Island (Repanga). Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-02.
  3. New Zealand Lighthouses - Cuvier - named by D'Urville

Coordinates: 36°26′S 175°46′E / 36.433°S 175.767°E