Beaver Island ( es, Isla San Rafael) is one of the Beaver Island group of
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
. It lies west of
Weddell Island and south of
New Island and has an area of .
Other islands in the group include Staats Island, with an area of ; Tea Island, which covers ; Governor Island, which covers ; Split Island, with an area of and a few smaller islands. Though the smaller islands in the group are low-lying, the larger islands are very hilly, with many peaks of more than and some more than . The highest elevation in the Beaver Island Group is .
History and population
Beaver Island was named after the whaling vessel "Beaver" which was recorded as being the first whaling ship to double
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...
.
Beaver Settlement lies on the island, with an
airstrip
An aerodrome ( Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for pub ...
nearby. It is owned by Sally and Jerome Poncet.
Wildlife
Wildlife on the island includes
gentoo penguin
The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The ea ...
s,
South American gray fox
The South American gray fox (''Lycalopex griseus''), also known as the Patagonian fox, the chilla or the gray zorro, is a species of ''Lycalopex'', the "false" foxes. It is endemic to the southern part of South America.
Description
The South A ...
es (introduced, not to be confused with the
Falkland Islands wolf),
peregrine falcons,
crested and
striated caracara
The striated caracara (''Phalcoboenus australis'') is a bird of prey of the family Falconidae. In the Falkland Islands, it is known as the Johnny rook, probably named after the Johnny penguin ( gentoo penguin).
Description
The adults' plumage is ...
s,
guanaco
The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations.
Etymology
The guanaco ...
s,
fur seal
Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively l ...
s, and many
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s. Beds of
kelp
Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms.
Kelp grows in "underwa ...
can be found offshore.
The Beaver Island Group has been identified by
BirdLife International as an
Important Bird Area. At least 40 species have been recorded, with 34 known to breed there. Species for which the group is an important breeding site include
Falkland steamer duck
The Falkland steamer duck (''Tachyeres brachypterus'') is a species of flightless duck found on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The steamer ducks get their name from their unconventional swimming behaviour in which they flap the ...
s (245 pairs),
gentoo penguin
The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The ea ...
s (2850 pairs),
Magellanic penguin
The Magellanic penguin (''Spheniscus magellanicus'') is a South American penguin, breeding in coastal Patagonia, including Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands, with some migrating to Brazil and Uruguay, where they are occasionally seen a ...
s (2000 pairs), and
southern giant petrels (300 pairs).
[
]
References
* Stonehouse, B (ed.) ''Encyclopedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans'' (2002, )
External links
Beaver Island
Islands of the Falkland Islands
Important Bird Areas of the Falkland Islands
Seabird colonies
Penguin colonies
{{Falklands-geo-stub