Ile Des Pingouins

Ile Des Pingouins

Île des Pingouins, or Penguin Island, is located in the sub-Antarctic Crozet Archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean. It is one of the smaller islands in the group, being uninhabited and only 3 km2 in size. It is a major nest site of seabirds. Île des Pingouins is situated on the archipelago's western edge and is its southernmost island, approximately 30 km southeast of Île aux Cochons and 95 km west-southwest of Île de la Possession. Small, 4 km long and 1 km wide, it is heavily eroded by the sea and has steep sides. It is almost inaccessible by sea and only rarely visited due to its surrounding coastal cliffs, which vary in height from 50 to 300 meters. Compared to the other islands in the archipelago, it is free of introduced species and has a relatively untouched environment. The island, which has been designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International, is home to some 29 species of birds. It has an extraordinarily high concentration of seabirds, among them one million pairs of Macaroni Penguins, 300 pairs of Black-Browed Albatrosses, four pairs of Salvin's Albatrosses, whose only breeding site is here in the Indian Ocean, and 30 pairs of Light-Mantled Albatrosses, and a couple thousand pairs of Medium-Billed Prions and White-Chinned Petrels. In addition, other bird species nest here in relatively large numbers.