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Pikelot Island is one of the outer islands of the State of Yap, part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a low coral islet, with a wet, tropical climate. It is uninhabited.
The islet has no permanent inhabitants, but because of the beautiful wildlife, there are often temporary visitors from surrounding atolls such as
On 2 August 2020, three missing sailors were found on the island. After being lost for three days, their
Island Directory
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Islands of Yap Uninhabited islands of the Federated States of Micronesia {{Micronesia-geo-stub
Flora and fauna
The island is known to have a rich ecosystem, with forest andscrub
Scrub(s) may refer to:
* Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland
* Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff
* ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program
* Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," ...
; and extensive fringing reefs. The islet is also home to a major seabird rookery
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 envi ...
, turtle nesting area and a few mangroves.
Inhabitants
The islet has no permanent inhabitants, but because of the beautiful wildlife, there are often temporary visitors from surrounding atolls such as Puluwat
Poluwat, also Polowat, formerly Puluwat, is a coral atoll and a municipality of Chuuk state, Federated States of Micronesia.
Geography
Polowat is located in the northwestern region ( Oksoritod), and there in the western area (Pattiw) of Chuuk ...
and Satawal on turtle hunting
Turtling is the hunting of turtles. Turtling has been a part of human culture since as far back as the middle of the first millennium BC, where sea turtles such as the hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') were eaten as delicaci ...
expeditions. The trip to Pikelot is still carried out in Micronesian style sailing outrigger canoes.
History
The first recorded European sighting was by Spanish naval officer Juan Antonio de Ibargoitia commanding the vessel ''Filipino'' in 1801.
On 2 August 2020, three missing sailors were found on the island. After being lost for three days, their SOS
is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, that was originally established for maritime use. In formal notation is written with an overscore line, to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" ...
sign, assembled with palm branches laid out on the beach, was spotted by a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft operated by members of the Hawaii and Pennsylvania Air National Guard
The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...
s, who had departed from Andersen Air Force Base
Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pacific ...
, Guam to search for the missing vessel and its crew. The airmen then radioed their position to an Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n ship in the area. The men were delivered supplies and equipment by an ARH Tiger
The Eurocopter Tiger is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter which first entered service in 2003. It is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), which arose from the merger of Aérospatiale's and DASA's respective helic ...
helicopter from as well as a United States Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules
The Lockheed HC-130 is an extended-range, search and rescue (SAR)/combat search and rescue (CSAR) version of the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft, with two different versions operated by two separate services in the U.S. armed forc ...
from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point
Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point is an air station of the United States Coast Guard located approximately 13½ miles west of Honolulu, at the Kalaeloa Airport, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Initially the Coast Guard established a base on ...
, Hawaii and ultimately returned home aboard Micronesian FSS ''Independance''.
See also
* Desert island * List of islandsReferences
External links
Island Directory
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Islands of Yap Uninhabited islands of the Federated States of Micronesia {{Micronesia-geo-stub