The Marlborough Sounds have many native species that call the area home, that are considered taonga.
Some like the King Shag / Kawau a toru can only be found in the Marlborough Sounds.
There are approximately forty endangered Hector’s Dolphin / Tūpoupou that spend the majority of the year in Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui giving birth to their young in spring and early summer in the Tūpoupou Marine Protected Area.
Some of the small islands in the Marlborough Sounds are predator free and provide protected areas for endangered species like the Rowi Kiwi, South Island Saddleback / Tīeke, New Zealand Parakeet / Kākāriki and Little Penguins / Kororā.