The Southland temperate forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion on New Zealand's South Island. The natural vegetation was mostly forest, but over the centuries human activities, including grazing and fires, replaced much of the original forest with grassland and agriculture. Geography The Southland temperate forests occupy the southernmost portion of the South Island. Fiordland lies to the west. The South Pacific Ocean lies to the south and southeast. The Takitimu Mountains and Hokonui Hills form the northern edge of the ecoregion. Other highlands include the Longwood Range in the southwest, and The Catlins in the southeast. The Southland Plains cover the central-southern portion of the ecoregion. Invercargill is the largest city in the ecoregion. Most of the ecoregion lies within the Southland Region, with part of the northeast of the ecoregion being in Otago. Flora The natural vegetation was mostly forest of broadleaf trees and podocarp conifers. Higher-elevation forests are predominantly southern beech (Nothofagus), including silver beech (Nothofagus menziesii) in the western mountains and red beech (Nothofagus fusca) in the northern mountains. The lowland forests include broadleaf trees and podocarps, with kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) common in swampy areas and rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) in drier areas. The broadleaf evergreen southern rata (Metrosideros umbellata) and kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa) are found in the central hill country and in The Catlins. Tussock grasslands occurred naturally, and expanded into large areas where the forests were burned or cleared. Red tussock grass (Chionochloa rubra) was the predominant species, with snow tussocks (primarily Chionochloa spp.) found on the higher peaks. Other habitats include dunes, coastal and riverine wetlands, and coastal tussock grasslands. Fauna Native birds include the yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes), yellowhead or mōhua (Mohoua ochrocephala), and New Zealand rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris). Swamp harriers (Circus approximans) and South Island fernbirds (Bowdleria punctata punctata) inhabit the tussock grasslands. Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), New Zealand fur seals (Arctophoca forsteri) and New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) live on the shore. History At the end of the ice age, New Zealand's glaciers retreated and the region became forested. In New Zealand birds were the largest land animals, and several species of flightless moa inhabited the ecoregion, along with Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei), the flightless New Zealand swan (Cygnus sumnerensis) and the South Island goose (Cnemiornis calcitrans). The Maori settled the region after 1300. The early settlers hunted birds and seals, and the moa, New Zealand