Data Zone
Country/territory: French Southern Territories
IBA criteria met: A1, A4i, A4ii, A4iii (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 400 ha
Site description (2001 baseline)
Île des Pingouins is situated on the western edge of the archipelago, close to the Île des Cochons. It is a small, sheer island, 4 km by 1 km, much eroded by the sea. The coastal cliffs that surround the island vary in height between 50–300 m. The island is virtually inaccessible from the sea and is therefore only occasionally visited by man. It is free of any introduced species, so both vegetation and fauna are pristine.
Key biodiversity
See Box for key species. At least 29 species breed. This site has an exceptionally high density of seabirds, notably including six species of albatross which, in addition to those listed below, comprise 300 pairs of Diomedea melanophris, four pairs of D. cauta salvini, (the only breeding locality for this subspecies in the Indian Ocean) and 30 pairs of Phoebetria palpebrata. Several thousand pairs of Pachyptila salvini salvini and Procellaria aequinoctialis also occur.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known to BirdLife International.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Île des Pingouins (French Southern Territories). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/île-des-pingouins-iba-french-southern-territories on 23/11/2024.