Mosquito Island (sometimes spelled Moskito Island) is an island off the coast of

Virgin Gorda Virgin Gorda () is the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anegada) and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Geography Located at about 18 degrees, 48 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area ...

and has long been a favourite for scuba divers and sailors. For many years the island was the location of a sail-in dive resort named Drake's Anchorage.

Sir Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

purchased the island in 2007 for £10 million. Branson announced in 2011 that he planned to relocate ring-tailed lemurs from some zoos in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Sweden, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

to the island. Later relocations of

red ruffed lemur The red ruffed lemur (''Varecia rubra'') is one of two species in the genus ''Varecia'', the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata''). Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar. It occurs only in the ...

s and possibly

sifaka A sifaka (; ) is a lemur of the genus ''Propithecus'' from the family Indriidae within the order Primates. The name of their family is an onomatopoeia of their characteristic "shi-fak" alarm call. Like all lemurs, they are found only on the isl ...

s might follow. The announced plans were met with some criticism. The island is located on the west side of Gorda Sound adjacent to

and near Necker Island, which is also owned by Branson.

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

visited the island in February 2017, and learned how to kiteboard there, shortly after his retirement as President of the United States.

Name

On old nautical charts of the British Virgin Islands, the island's name is often spelled "Moskito" (possibly as an older spelling of "

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

" - older versions of the English language did make greater use of

etymological Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words a ...

spelling). Although modern charts usually spell the island "Mosquito" Island, and the Land Registry of the British Virgin Islands titles the island as "Mosquito" Island, Richard Branson has expressed a preference for "Moskito" Island, and most of the publicity material relating to his development has used that spelling. Bert Kilbride, owner of Moskito Island 1960 - 1970 and the original builder/operator of Drakes Anchorage, always said it was spelled MOSKITO after the Miskito Indians that traveled through the Caribbean Islands from South or Central America, although their name is spelled Miskito.

References

Virgin Limited Edition Private islands of the British Virgin Islands {{BVI-geo-stub