Grass Island, South Georgia

Grass Island
Stromness Bay, location of the Grass Island
Grass Island (center)
Grass Island (center)
Geography
Coordinates54°9′30″S 36°40′0″W / 54.15833°S 36.66667°W / -54.15833; -36.66667
ArchipelagoSouth Georgia
Administration
United Kingdom

Grass Island (Spanish: Isla Pasto) is a 30-hectare (74 acres)[1] island located at the entrance to Stromness Harbour in Stromness Bay, South Georgia. It was known as Mutton Island as early as 1912, but since 1920 the name Grass Island has been consistently used.[2]

Ecology

The island is a breeding location for giant petrels.[3] The invasive beetle Temnostega antarcticus had by 1996 spread to the island, after being introduced to South Georgia at one spot near Husvik, the easternmost of the three whaling stations located in Stromness Bay.[4]

In the summer of 2000, an operation targeting the Norway rat, an introduced species on South Georgia and its surrounding islands, was successful in eradicating the island's rat population, bringing hope that the rats may be able to be eradicated from the whole region.[5][1] After the eradication of the rats, South Georgia pipits re-established a presence on the island, and the island's population of white-chinned petrels was reported to have increased.[5]

Falklands War

After South Georgia had been invaded and occupied by Argentina on the 3 April, 1982, during the Falklands War, the British used Grass Island during the staging of Operation Paraquet; the operation to recapture South Georgia. On 22 and 23 April, 1982, after a British Special Boat Service team had been driven back by snow at Cumberland East Bay, a troop of the Special Air Service was landed on Grass Island from HMS Antrim. Once on the island they set up an observation post in preparation for a British attack on the Argentine positions on South Georgia.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Martin, A. R.; Richardson, M. G. (2019). "Rodent eradication scaled up: clearing rats and mice from South Georgia". Oryx. 53 (1): 27–35. doi:10.1017/S003060531700028X. ISSN 0030-6053. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "Grass Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Poncet, Sally; Wolfaardt, Anton C.; Barbraud, Christophe; Reyes-Arriagada, Ronnie; Black, Andrew; Powell, Robert B.; Phillips, Richard A. (2020). "The distribution, abundance, status and global importance of giant petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) breeding at South Georgia". Polar Biology. 43 (1): 26. doi:10.1007/s00300-019-02608-y. ISSN 0722-4060. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  4. ↑ Convey, P.; Key, R. S.; Key, R. J. D.; Belchier, M.; Waller, C. L. (2011). "Recent range expansions in non-native predatory beetles on sub-Antarctic South Georgia". Polar Biology. 34 (4): 598. doi:10.1007/s00300-010-0909-6. ISSN 0722-4060. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 Poncet, S.; Poncet, L.; Poncet, D.; Christie, D.; Dockrill, C.; Brown, D. (2011). "Introduced mammal eradications in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia" (PDF). Island Invasives: Eradication and Management (PDF). By IUCN & The Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity. Veitch, C.R.; Clout, M.N.; Towns, D.R. (eds.). p. 333. ISBN 978-2-8317-1291-8.
  6. ↑ Bicheno, Hugh (2006) Razor's Edge: The Unofficial History of the Falklands War. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-7538-2186-2
  7. ↑ Major Tommy Turtle, SAS soldier who took part in crucial operations during the Falklands War – obituary of Tommy Turtle, The Daily Telegraph, 4 March 2021, accessed 6 March 2021 (subscription required)

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Grass Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.

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