• Source: Dyer Island Nature Reserve Complex

The Dyer Island Nature Reserve Complex is a protected area off the coast of Gansbaai in the Western Cape, South Africa. It consists of three islets, namely Dyer Island; Geyser Island; and Quoin Rock, that lies 25 km (16 mi) away from Dyer Island, off the coast of Quoin Point Nature Reserve and Agulhas National Park.
Combined, Dyer Island and Geyser Island are a designated Ramsar site.
Dyer Island is the largest in the group of islands, and lies about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) offshore from Gansbaai and Danger Point Lighthouse. It is home to a declining colony of African penguins (≈ 5000 individuals in 2015). Geyser Island is a smaller island nearby and is home to around 60,000 brown fur seals.
The shallow channel between the two islands is popularly known as Shark Alley.
The reserve cannot be accessed by the general public.




History


The original name of Dyer Island was Ilha da Fera (Island of wild creatures), so named by Portuguese seafarers in the 15th century.
It is named after Samson Dyer, an emigrant from the US to the Cape Colony in 1806, who lived on the island collecting guano, which he sold to mainlanders as fertiliser.
In 1988, the two islands were named individually as Provincial Nature Reserves. And in 2019, the two islands were designated as a Ramsar site.




Biodiversity



The reserve is home to a number of threatened species. It is home to 48 bird species, of which 21 species breed here. There are 26 species of fish found in the surrounding waters, including the endangered Galjoen.




= Birds

=
African penguin
African oystercatcher
Antarctic tern
Arctic tern
Bank cormorant
Cape cormorant
Caspian tern
Common tern
Crowned cormorant
Greater crested tern
Hartlaub’s gull
Leach’s storm petrel
Roseate tern
Sandwich tern
White-breasted cormorant




= Fish

=
Galjoen
Great white shark




= Mammals

=
Cape fur seal




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Dyer Island Nature Reserve Complex
• List of protected areas of South Africa
• List of Ramsar sites in South Africa
• Faial Island
• Glen Affric
• Danube
• Canary Islands
• TPC at Sawgrass
• List of Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance
• Hualālai