The Seal Islands (also known as Îles des Phoques, Islas Foca, Islotes Foca and Seal Rocks) are a group of small islands and rocky islets lying about 7 km north and north-west of
Elephant Island, in the
South Shetland Islands of
Antarctica. They extend east–west for about 5 km,
[ and are separated from Elephant Island by ]Sealers Passage
Sealers Passage is a marine channel between Elephant Island and the Seal Islands, in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It was named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee
The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) i ...
. The group takes its name from the largest island, which Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
William Smith named Seal Island in 1820 because of the number of seals killed there.
Description
Seal Island, the largest in the group, has a coastline of precipitous cliffs, with a sandy beach on the western shore and some small coves. It rises to 125 m in height. It is constituted of poorly consolidated sedimentary rocks which are susceptible to wave and runoff erosion. Other islands in the group are similarly rocky with steep cliffs and few beaches. Ice-cover is seasonal.[
]
Important Bird Area
The islands, with the intervening marine zone, have been identified as a 514 ha Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because they support several breeding colonies, totalling some 20,000 pairs, of chinstrap penguins. Other birds nesting in the group in smaller numbers include macaroni penguins (350 pairs), southern giant petrel
The southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant pet ...
s, imperial shags, Cape petrels, Wilson's storm petrels, snowy sheathbills and kelp gulls. Antarctic fur seals breed on the islands, with around 600 seal pups born each year. Southern elephant, Weddell, leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
and crabeater seals haul out
Hauling-out is a behaviour associated with pinnipeds (true seals, sea lions, fur seals and walruses) temporarily leaving the water. Hauling-out typically occurs between periods of foraging activity. Rather than remain in the water, pinnipeds hau ...
there.
See also
* List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands
References
Important Bird Areas of Antarctica
Seabird colonies
Islands of the South Shetland Islands
Elephant Island
Geography of the British Antarctic Territory
Seal hunting
Penguin colonies
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