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Fiordland, set up in 1952 is one of the largest National Parks in the world and the largest in New Zealand. This National Park encompasses about 1,200,000 hectares of land that is craggy and wild. The northern summits like Darran Mountains have high altitudes of 2746 m and are crisscrossed by rivulets and glaciers. Fiordland is characterized by very high rainfall and is the abode of striking biodiversity. Flora- The Fiordland National Park is almost covered by forest belts consisting of silver beech. Podocarp are found in the lower altitudes. Dense undergrowth consists of tree-ferns, ferns, shrubs and epiphytes. The predominant vegetation above the treeline includes snow tussock grasslands and alpine plants.
The endemic species of Fiordland consists of tussock, tree daisies, daisies, buttercups and speargrasses. Avi Fauna - This region is the abode of takahe in New Zealand (about 120).Other common forest birds include silvereye, South Island tomtit, South Island rifleman, grey warbler, South Island fantail, brown creeper, New Zealand pigeon and etc. Endangered species like brown kiwi, yellow-crowned parakeet, South Island kaka, weka, and New Zealand falcon are also found.
The water bodies of Fiordland are home to the endangered blue duck and brown teal.Sea birds like tube-nosed Procellariiformes and shags are also found.
The Fiordland crested penguin is one of the rarest species of the world and the world's smallest penguin are commonly found here. Fauna(Wildlife) - Bottlenose and dusky dolphins, Humpback, New Zealand fur seals Southern right whale and orca (killer whales) are found in the waters of Fiordland. , Southern sea elephants, leopard seals and Hooker's sea lions are also found occasionally. Insects- Fiordland National Park houses about 3000 species of insects including coloured alpine moths, stoners, scree weta, hairy alpine grasshopper and giant weevils.
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