Danger Island, Great Chagos Bank

It is a 2 km (1.24 m) long and flat island with a maximum width of {{convert|400|m|0|abbr=on}}, covered with tall coconut trees.

Its name may derive from the lack of a safe anchorage, which rendered every visit to this island dangerous for the ship and crew.[https://archive.today/20060705183013/http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/Pub171/ Indian Ocean Pilot] A dangerous reef also extends about two to three miles south by west of the island, which at times the sea breaks on.{{cite book | editor-first=Walker Graham | editor-last=Blackie | section=Danger Island | title=The Imperial Gazetteer | volume=2 | publisher=Blackie & Son | year=1856 | section-url=https://archive.org/details/imperialgazette02blacrich/page/802 | page=802 }} The closest land is Sea Cow Island, the southernmost of the Eagle Islands which lies {{convert|16|km|0|abbr=on}} to the NNE.British Admiralty nautical chart 11000030 - 3 Chagos Archipelago, Scale 1:360 000

Danger Island was sighted by the French ship {{lang|fr|La Bouffonne}} in 1777. It was given its name by lieutenant Archibald Blair{{cite book | title=The Oriental Navigator | year=1794 | publisher=Robert Laurie and James Whittle | publication-place=London | url=https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-oriental-navigator-_1794/page/n147 | page=136 }} during his 1786 survey of the Chagos archipelago. Blair described the island at the time: "At dawn of day saw Breakers bearing NE, distant about ½ Mile, which I found at daylight to extend from Danger Island [...] It is covered with thick Wood, and a few Coconut Trees near the Centre" [emphasis in original].{{cite book | first=Archibald | last=Blair | author-link=Archibald Blair | title=Remarks and Observations in a Survey of the Chagos Archipelago | publisher=Dalrymple | year=1788 | publication-place=London | url=https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_remarks-and-observations_blair-archibald-lieute_1788/page/n19 | pages=16–17 }}

There was never a permanent settlement on Danger Island, even at the time that the Chagos were inhabited (between the mid-18th and mid-20th centuries). However, occasionally plantation workers from other islands would be brought to this island to collect coconuts.

File:Danger Island commemorative plaque.jpg

In 1975 there was an expedition to Danger Island by the Joint Services (JSDI). The expedition members were taken by RFA Resurgent to Eagle Islands and then by ketch and inflatable craft to Danger Island and to Three Brothers. The expedition made a topographical survey of the coral reef, an ecological survey of the corals on it and a study on the metabolism of the reef.

Baldwin, EA (ed.) (1975), A report on the Joint Services Expedition to Danger Island in the central Indian Ocean, December 1974 to April 1975 Ministry of Defence Publication, London A reference collection of samples of the flora and fauna of the area was also undertaken.{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/historical-marine-collections/nhm-collections/coral/index.html|title=Zoology collections - Natural History Museum|website=www.nhm.ac.uk}}

Following the Strict Nature Reserves Regulations issued on 18 September 1998, Danger Island, including its territorial waters and the reef surrounding, became a Strict Nature Reserve.{{cite web |title=Terrestrial Protected Areas |url=https://biot.gov.io/environment/terrestrial-protected-areas/ |website=British Indian Ocean Territory |accessdate=26 August 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/dg/BIOTconservation.pdf|title=6: British Indian Ocean Territory|publisher=}}

Danger Island has also been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. Birds for which the island is of conservation significance include red-footed boobies (3,500 breeding pairs) and brown noddies (11,000 pairs).{{cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org |title=Danger Island, Chagos Bank |accessdate=2012-10-21 |work=Important Bird Areas factsheet |publisher=BirdLife International |date=2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710124603/http://www.birdlife.org/ |archivedate=2007-07-10 }}

The 2012 Chagos Trust expedition landed on the island with some difficulty: it was necessary to swim from an inflatable offshore, and due to the strong undertow, not all were able to land. Those who got ashore reported good tree cover including hardwood trees, especially Pisonia, and a healthy bird community. In the water they explored a shallow bank of seagrass, hoping, but without success, to find dugongs.{{cite web|url=http://chagos-trust.org/blog/february-2012-expedition-day-14-danger-island|title=February 2012 Expedition - Day 14 - Danger Island - Chagos Conservation Trust|website=chagos-trust.org}} The 2015 expedition visited the island, landing by the same method but with less difficulty, and reported red-footed and brown Boobys and two species of crab: ghost and sally lightfoot. They also reported turtle tracks and nest, and, in the water, good fish populations and some coral recovery following widespread coral death the previous year.{{cite web|url=http://chagos-trust.org/blog/2015-darwin-science-expedition-day-23-danger-island-coral-gardens-and-rubbl|title=2015 Darwin Science Expedition - Day 23 - Danger Island Coral Gardens and Rubble Beds - Chagos Conservation Trust|website=chagos-trust.org}}{{cite web|url=http://chagos-trust.org/blog/biot-mpa-survey-expedition-2015-day-1-danger-island|title=BIOT MPA Survey Expedition 2015 - Day 1 - Danger Island - Chagos Conservation Trust|website=chagos-trust.org}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/mando_gal/5498081698/ Joint Services Expedition To Danger Island - (1975) commemorative postcard]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120328124105/http://www.reefnewmedia.co.uk/cmt_chagos/uploads/PDF/Science/bibliography.pdf Chagos research papers and books]

{{Atolls of the Chagos Archipelago}}

Category:Chagos Archipelago

Category:Nature reserves

Category:Uninhabited islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory

Category:Important Bird Areas of the British Indian Ocean Territory

Category:Seabird colonies

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