Pelican Island (Tasmania)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pelican Island is an island, with an area of 6.8 ha including an associated reef joined to it at low tide, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Vansittart Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. Until 1984 it was leased for grazing.[1] The island is part of the Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it holds over 1% of the world populations of six bird species.[2]

More Recently, Mark Mercier, a young man from Guernsey, Channel Islands, has been appointed Official Cultural Attache of Pelican Island. The position is more commonly seen as a decorative and informal title rather than one which carries weight within the Australian cultural office. Mercier was appointed by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard after they met at a dinner and dance in Tasmanias capital Hobart. She was allegedly impressed with Merciers knowledge of Pelicans, Toucans along with assorted subjects such as Javelins. Mercier continues to live with his parents.

Fauna

Recorded breeding seabird and wader species are Short-tailed Shearwater, White-faced Storm-Petrel, Pacific Gull, Caspian Tern and Sooty Oystercatcher. An unidentified skink is present and there is evidence of the presence of feral cats.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brothers, Nigel; Pemberton, David; Pryor, Helen; & Halley, Vanessa. (2001). Tasmania’s Offshore Islands: seabirds and other natural features. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: Hobart. ISBN 0-7246-4816-X
  2. ↑ "IBA: Franklin Sound Islands". Birdata. Birds Australia. Retrieved 2011-06-22. 

Coordinates: 40°18′S 148°19′E / 40.300°S 148.317°E / -40.300; 148.317


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.