:: Wildlife
The importance of New Island as a breeding ground, along with a number of other islands in this part of the archipelago can be attributed to the Falkland Current. A main stream of this current flows to the west side of New Island, creating one of the richest marine resources and feeding grounds for wildlife to be found around the Falkland Islands.

:: Birds
New Island is one of the finest wildlife areas in the Falklands. This is largely because of the variety and density of bird life which lives there. More than two million seabirds inhabit New Island and its surrounding smaller islands, with large numbers of breeding Rockhopper, Gentoo and Magellanic penguins, and more than 13,000 pairs of Black-browed Albatross nest on New Island, often sharing their main rookeries with King Cormorants.

Passerines, or song birds, such as the Falkland Thrush, Falkland Pipit, Meadowlark and Black-chinned Siskin are common and breed successfully on the reserve. Pipits, Meadowlarks, Grass Wrens and the Black-throated Finch in particular rely on good stands of tall native grasses to make their nests in; re-vegetation on the island has ensured that these species now have plenty of breeding habitat.
The Short-eared Owl can be found on New Island, and this bird also nests and roosts in Cinnamon, Tussac and Blue couch grass, although it is possible that the Owl's success may be limited by the presence of a large number of Striated Caracaras.

On the shoreline it is possible to see large numbers of Pied and Blackish Oystercatchers, Crested Patagonian Ducks, Flightless Falkland Steamer Ducks and Kelp Geese, with flocks of the tiny Two-banded Plover and an occasional Sand Piper. Dominican and Dolphin Gulls, sometimes neighboured by South America Terns, can also be found breeding on the reserve's coast, usually moving breeding site from year to year.

The sheer, exposed cliffs provide the perfect home for the rather elusive Peregrine Falcon. Red-backed Buzzards (pictured above right) share the slightly more accessible cliff edges, building large nests of Diddle-dee twigs.

After dark, the night comes alive with calls from petrels returning to their burrows from long foraging trips at sea. Hundreds of thousands of Thin-billed Prions flock back to greet their partners or to feed waiting chicks. The much larger White-chinned Petrel and the Sooty Shearwater are uncommon on New Island, but small numbers do breed, sharing the hillsides with their smaller relatives.

:: Mammals
There are no native land mammals in the Falkland Archipelago, but several have been introduced. Marine mammals however are fairly abundant, and the New Island reserve protects an important percentage of the Islands' breeding population of the Falkland Islands Fur seal, and is an important feeding ground for a number of other marine mammals including large groups of Peale's Porpoise, Sea Lions and small numbers of Killer whales and other cetaceans.

:: Vegetation
New Island's natural environment and its wildlife suffered a great deal due to the exploits of man prior to 1972. Because of extensive stock grazing and the introduction of non-native grasses, the island presents an interesting example of the re-establishment of native vegetation following the removal of this stock. The island will probably never revert to its original pristine state, but as a model for the study of re-vegetation it is perhaps unique. Today, there are many encouraging signs of native grasses such as Tussac, Cinnamon and Blue Couch grass re-colonising areas that were seemingly held by well-established stands of invasive species such as Yorkshire Fog.

For marine species, the island's extensive coastal environment provides a wide range of habitats for kelps such as the Giant Kelp and Tree Kelp and algae such as Durvillea antarctica, Durvillea caepestipes and a Sea lettuce species which is the main feed of common Falkland shorebird, the Kelp Goose.