Rabbit Island (Antigua)
| Rabbit Island | ||
|---|---|---|
| Waters | Caribbean Sea ( Atlantic ) | |
| Archipelago | Antigua ( Lesser Antilles , Caribbean ) | |
| Geographical location | 17 ° 8 ′ N , 61 ° 44 ′ W | |
|
||
| length | 250 m | |
| width | 100 m | |
| surface | 2 ha | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
Rabbit Island (' Rabbit Island ') is a small uninhabited island off the Atlantic east coast of the Caribbean island of Antigua .
Location and landscape
Rabbit Island is located in the northeastern reef zone of Antigua, and is one of the smaller of its minor islands . It is located north of Guiana Island in the North Sound , on the mainland side of the reef that shields the sound from the open Atlantic. To the northeast is Great Bird Island about a kilometer away , with a few other small islands in between, which together are also called Great Bird Islets and are part of the Northeast Archipelago . Administratively it belongs to Saint Peter's Parish .
The island measures about 250 meters from south to north, its width is almost 100 meters. In total, the island has an area of about two hectares . It rises just a few meters above sea level and is made up of tropical bush forest and lined with pure white coral rock.
History and Conservation
Like all of Antigua's side islands, Rabbit Island has been relevant for both tourist development and nature conservation since the 1960s. Protected areas were proposed here several times as early as the 1970s.
In 1999 the Antigua slender snake (Antiguan Racer, Alsophis antiguae ) was established here. It was considered extinct and is now known as the rarest snake in the world. It was wiped out on the Antiguan mainland by rats and Indian mongooses, which were introduced against sugar cane pests in the 19th century. A small population had survived on Great Bird Island. The rat ( Rattus rattus ) was exterminated on Rabbit Island in 1998, and five snake males and five females of different ages were released. The project was successful, the population is considered viable, and reintroduction efforts were extended to Green Island in 2002 and York Island in 2008 .
Guiana Island and some of the Great Bird Islets were bought in the late 1990s by Malaysian investors planning the Asia Village Resort in the area . Then they belonged to the US-Antiguan investor Allen Stanford . After his conviction in fraud, the question of ownership remains unresolved.
Since 2006 the island has belonged to the North East Marine Management Area ( NEMMA , 78 km²), a rather unspecific protected area. In 2007, an Offshore Islands Important Bird Area (AG006), which includes the Antiguan minor islands as an important area for coastal birds, was also identified.
A Chinese group recently became interested in acquiring the northeastern islands and building a resort. In February 2014, a petition was then initiated to parliament to declare Rabbit Island and the nearby Red Head Island to be expressly protected areas.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b according to local understanding, the Antiguan east coast is considered "Atlantic"; the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defines the Caribbean-Atlantic coast along the 100-fathom line (approx. 180 m), which lies a few nautical miles from Antigua. International Hydrographic Organization (Ed.): Limits of oceans and seas . Special publication No. 23. 3rd ed. Imp. Monégasque, Monte-Carlo 1953, 27. - Caribbean Sea , p. 14th f . (English, iho-ohi.net [PDF] in PDF p. 16).
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↑ The Antiguan Racer Conservation Project , antiguanracer.org;
Jennifer C. Daltry: Reintroduction of the critically endangered Antiguan Racer Alsophis antiguae to Rabbit Island, Antigua . In: Conservation Evidence . No. 3 (2006) , 2006, pp. 33-35 ( conservationevidence.com [PDF]). Jennifer C. Daltry, Donald Anthonyson, Mathew N. Morton: Re-introduction of the Antiguan Racer to offshore islands of Antigua, West Indies . In: Pritpal S. Soorae (Ed.): Global Re-introduction Perspectives: Additional Case Studies from Around the Globe . IUCN, 2010, ISBN 978-2-8317-1320-5 , pp.
98–103 ( Google eBook, full view of the article - on Rabbit Island especially p. 100). - ^ More Stanford assets found , on BBCCaribbean.com , March 2, 2009
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↑ AG006 Offshore Islands, Important Bird Areas factsheet , BirdLife International (ramsar.org);
Since Antigua and Barbuda has signed the SPAW protocol (Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife in the Wider Caribbean Region) of the UNEP , these areas designated by BirdLife International are legally relevant. - ↑ Hundreds sign to protect endangered species , Rory Butler on antiguaobserver.com , February 13, 2014.
- ↑ Petition to make rabbit and redhead islands nature reserves , antiguanice.com, February 12, 2014, accessed February 28, 2014.