Takutea
Takutea is a small uninhabited island in the Cook Islands, 21 kilometres (13 miles) north-west of Atiu. Administratively, the island is considered part of Atiu, the closest island. It is owned equally by all inhabitants of Atiu and not allocated to one specific village or district of Atiu.
Geography
Takutea is an oval island roughly 1 mile (2 kilometres) long and 3/4 of a mile across.[1] It consists entirely of sand, with a maximum elevation of 20 feet (6 metres). The island is surrounded by a narrow reef.[1]
History
Takutea has never been permanently inhabited. It was originally called Areuna, but was renamed Taka-ku-tea ("my white ku") by the explorer Mariri after he caught a white ku (squirrelfish) there.[2] The island was also known as Enua-iti ("Small Island").[2]
Takutea was visited by the people of Atiu, who collected seabirds and coconuts there and regarded it as tribal land.
Visits to the island declined after 1963, when laws were passed limiting inter-island voyages on traditional craft.[5] Takutea has since been managed as a wildlife sanctuary.[6]: 1
In 2004 a television episode of Survivorman (Les Stroud) was filmed on Takutea Island.
Ecology
Flora
Heavily modified for copra production in the early twentieth century, Takutea's vegetation has since been left to recover. A strip of coastal vegetation surrounds a core of native scrub, native forest, and mixed native and coconut forest.
Fauna
Takutea is a significant breeding site for seabirds,[6]: 1 and is home to red-tailed tropicbirds and red-footed boobies. Other nesting species include the great frigatebird, brown booby, brown noddy, black noddy and white tern.[7]: 13 The island is also home to coconut crabs.[6]: 11
Because of its importance as a seabird breeding area, Takutea's trustees manage it as a wildlife sanctuary, and have banned the killing of birds or the removal of red tropicbird tail-feathers.[7]: 9 No species may be removed from the island or its lagoon without the approval of the trustees.[7]: 9 The island, with its surrounding waters, has also been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.[8][9]
See also
- Desert island
- List of islands
References
- ^ . Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Alphons M.J. Kloosterman (1976). Discoverers of the Cook Islands and the Names they Gave. Cook Islands Library and Museum. p. 53. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Tropicalities". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XI, no. 5. 14 December 1940. p. 14. Retrieved 9 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ James P. Shortall (1 October 1954). "Notes Made Here and There in the Cooks: Atiu Copra Project". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXV, no. 3. p. 66-67. Retrieved 9 March 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Discover Takutea". Cook Islands Tourism Corporation. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Gerald McCormack (1994). Takūtea Wildlife Sanctuary, Cook Islands (PDF). South Pacific Regional Environment Programme.
- ^ a b c d "Moko'ero Reserve and Takūtea Wildlife Sanctuary Terrestrial Assessment Report" (PDF). Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust. 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Takutea Wildlife Sanctuary". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Atiu, Aitutaki 'important bird areas'". Cook Islands News. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
External links
19°48′47″S 158°17′39″W / 19.81306°S 158.29417°W
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