Mistaken Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

located approximately south-east of Albany,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Located in

King George Sound King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...

the island is located approximately from Vancouver peninsula. There is evidence that shore-based bay whaling activities were conducted on the island in the 19th century. In 1971, the island was declared as a class 1A

Nature Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

with a total area of . The area adjacent to the island is used to cultivate

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s on long lines on licenses issued by the Department of fisheries and leases issued by the Albany Port Authority. Mistaken Island

Little penguin colony

The island received its name for the little penguin (''

Eudyptula minor The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian lit ...

'') burrows which were mistaken for rabbit holes and the island has also been historically referred to as Rabbit Island. In 1936 and 1938, the penguins of Mistaken Island became victims of deliberately lit fires. Following the latter event, some were discovered with their feet "burned off". As of 2011, the penguin colony on Mistaken Island is the subject of scientific study.

References

{{reflist Nature reserves in Western Australia Islands of the Great Southern (Western Australia) Albany, Western Australia Whaling stations in Australia