Vahanga
Encyclopedia
Vahanga is a small atoll
5 miles west of Tenarunga
. It is located in the Acteon Group
in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. Vahanga is a low atoll covered with coconut trees. There is a landing place on the northwest side of the atoll, near a white house, but there is no access to the lagoon.
Vahanga, like the rest of the Acteon Group, belongs to the municipality
of the Gambier Islands
.
In 2007, an ecological project conducted by the University of Auckland
and the Ornithological Society of Polynesia
aimed to eradicate Vahanga's Polynesian Rat
s, which had colonized the atoll, to restore balance to the ecosystem supporting bird species such as the Polynesian Ground-dove
and the Tuamotu Sandpiper
. A previous campaign in 2000 had failed in this goal.
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
5 miles west of Tenarunga
Tenarunga
Tenarunga or Tenania, formerly Minto Island, 15 km NNW of Matureivavao, is a low, wooded and uninhabited atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands...
. It is located in the Acteon Group
Acteon Group
The Acteon Group is a subgroup of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located about 1,400 km south-southeast of Tahiti and southeast of the main Tuamotu atoll cluster and is rather isolated...
in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. Vahanga is a low atoll covered with coconut trees. There is a landing place on the northwest side of the atoll, near a white house, but there is no access to the lagoon.
Vahanga, like the rest of the Acteon Group, belongs to the municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of the Gambier Islands
Gambier Islands
There was a time when the Gambiers hosted a population of several thousand people and traded with other island groups including the Marquesas, the Society Islands and Pitcairn Islands...
.
In 2007, an ecological project conducted by the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
and the Ornithological Society of Polynesia
Ornithological Society of Polynesia
The Ornithological Society of Polynesia , also known as Manu, a Polynesian word for “bird”, is an environmental non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in Polynesia...
aimed to eradicate Vahanga's Polynesian Rat
Polynesian Rat
The Polynesian Rat, or Pacific Rat , known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the Brown Rat and Black Rat. The Polynesian Rat originates in Southeast Asia but, like its cousins, has become well travelled – infiltrating Fiji and most Polynesian...
s, which had colonized the atoll, to restore balance to the ecosystem supporting bird species such as the Polynesian Ground-dove
Polynesian Ground-dove
The Polynesian Ground Dove is a critically endangered species of bird in the Columbidae family. It is endemic to the Tuamotus in French Polynesia with recent records from the atolls of Matureivavao, Rangiroa, Tenararo, Morane, Vahanga and perhaps Tikehau...
and the Tuamotu Sandpiper
Tuamotu Sandpiper
The Tuamotu Sandpiper, Prosobonia cancellata, is an endangered member of the large wader family Scolopacidae, that is endemic to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Aechmorhynchus...
. A previous campaign in 2000 had failed in this goal.