Flora and Fauna
The island is a nature reserve. It is covered in tussac grass and is known for its caves and for its peat, which forms at around ten times the rate of anywhere else in the world. The process by which it forms so fast is not understood fully. Apart from the tussac, plants found on the island include Wild Celery, Antarctic Starwort and Bittercress.
The island has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area. Over 30 species have been recorded, including Gentoo Penguins (750 breeding pairs), Southern Rockhopper Penguins (60,000 pairs), Macaroni Penguins, Magellanic Penguins, Black-browed Albatrosses (100,000 pairs), Fairy Prions (10,000 pairs), Sooty Shearwaters, Wilson's Storm-petrels, Grey-backed Storm-petrels, Common Diving Petrels, Southern Giant Petrels. Imperial Shags (2500 pairs), Striated Caracaras (65 pairs). Blackish Cinclodes, Cobb's Wrens and White-bridled Finches. South American sea lions breed in small numbers on the island, which is a major haulout site for non-breeding animals.
Read more about this topic: Beauchene Island
Famous quotes containing the words flora and/or fauna:
“A man’s interest in a single bluebird is worth more than a complete but dry list of the fauna and flora of a town.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The whole fauna of human fantasies, their marine vegetation, drifts and luxuriates in the dimly lit zones of human activity, as though plaiting thick tresses of darkness. Here, too, appear the lighthouses of the mind, with their outward resemblance to less pure symbols. The gateway to mystery swings open at the touch of human weakness and we have entered the realms of darkness. One false step, one slurred syllable together reveal a man’s thoughts.”
—Louis Aragon (1897–1982)