Editing South Island (section)

==Natural history==

During the [[Last Glacial Period]] when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, the North and South Islands were connected by a vast coastal plain which formed at the [[South Taranaki Bight]]. Similarly, the South Island and [[Stewart Island / Rakiura]] were connected by coastal plains which covered modern-day [[Foveaux Strait]].<ref name="Niwa">{{Cite web |title=Estuary origins |work=NIWA |date=6 June 2017 |url=https://niwa.co.nz/te-kuwaha/tools-and-resources/ng%C4%81-waihotanga-iho-the-estuary-monitoring-toolkit-for-iwi/estuary-origins |publisher=[[National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research]] |access-date=3 November 2021 }}</ref> During this period, most of the South Island was covered in grassland and glaciers, compared to the woodlands and rainforest which grew in the more temperate North Island.<ref name="Ray">{{cite journal |last1=Ray |first1=N. |last2=Adams |first2=J.M. |title=A GIS-based Vegetation Map of the World at the Last Glacial Maximum (25,000–15,000 BP) |journal=Internet Archaeology |volume=11 |year=2001 |issue=11 |url=https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue11/2/toc.html |doi=10.11141/ia.11.2 }}</ref> Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, eventually separating the islands and linking the [[Cook Strait]] to the [[Tasman Sea]].<ref name="Niwa"/>

===Birds===
{{Main|Birds of New Zealand}}

[[File:Kea.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The South Island [[kea]], a species of mountain parrot]]
[[File:Male takahe walking on grass.jpg|thumb|right|The South Island [[takahē]]]]

There are several bird species which are [[Endemism|endemic]] to the South Island. They include the [[kea]], [[great spotted kiwi]], [[Okarito brown kiwi]], [[South Island kōkako]], [[South Island pied oystercatcher]], [[Malherbe's parakeet]], [[king shag]], [[takahē]], [[black-fronted tern]], [[South Island robin]], [[Rock wren (New Zealand)|rock wren]], [[wrybill]], and [[Yellowhead (bird)|yellowhead]].

Many South Island bird species are now [[extinct]], mainly due to hunting by humans and predation by cats and rats introduced by humans. Extinct species include the [[Cnemiornis|South Island goose]], [[South Island giant moa]], [[Haast's eagle]] and [[South Island piopio]].