Nickname:Big Dog Island | |
|---|---|
 Great Dog Island (centre) from space, January 1997 | |
  Great Dog Island Location of the Great Dog Island inBass Strait | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Bass Strait |
| Coordinates | 40°18′00″S147°54′36″E / 40.30000°S 147.91000°E /-40.30000; 147.91000[1] |
| Archipelago | Great Dog Group, part of theFurneaux Group |
| Area | 3.75 km2 (1.45 sq mi) |
| Administration | |
Australia | |
| State | Tasmania |
| LGA | Municipality of Flinders Island |
| Largest settlement | Great Dog Island village (pop. 10) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 10 (2014) |
| Pop. density | 2.67/km2 (6.92/sq mi) |
TheGreat Dog Island, also known asBig Dog Island, and part of theGreat Dog Group within theFurneaux Group, is a 354-hectare (870-acre)graniteisland, located inBass Strait, lying south of theFlinders Island and north of theCape Barren Island, inTasmania, in south-easternAustralia.[2][3]
The island is private property and has been severely affected bygrazinglivestock,fire,muttonbirding and the introduction ofexotic animals.[4][5] The island is part of theFranklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such byBirdLife International because it holds over 1% of the world populations of six bird species.[6]
George Robinson visited the island in the 1830s and records sealers taking mutton birds there in 1837.[7]
The Great Dog Island Group includes:
The island's vegetation is dominated by the grassPoa poiformis, aided by the burrowing and fertilising activities of the shearwaters in conjunction with regular burning-off. However, at the north-eastern side of the island, there is a remnant mixed forest community, rare within the Furneaux Group, ofmanna gum andAcacia verticillata with various species ofAllocasuarina,Melaleuca andLeptospermum.
Recorded breedingseabird andwader species areshort-tailed shearwater (about 300,000 pairs),white-faced storm-petrel,sooty oystercatcher andpied oystercatcher.Reptiles present include themetallic skink,spotted skink,eastern three-lined skink,eastern blue-tongued lizard,lowland copperhead andtiger snake. A native mammal recorded from the island is therakali, along with introducedmice,rats andferal cats.[5]
