Boullanger Island

Boullanger Island

Boullanger Island seen from Jurien Bay
Geography
Location	Indian Ocean
Coordinates	30°18′55″S 115°00′13″E / 30.31528°S 115.00361°E / -30.31528; 115.00361
Administration
Australia
State	Western Australia
LGA	Shire of Dandaragan

Boullanger Island is a small island off the coast of Western Australia. It is about 35 hectares (86 acres) in size. The closest town on the mainland is Jurien Bay. The island is part of the Jurien Bay Marine Park and is included in the Boullanger, Whitlock, Favourite, Tern, and Osprey Islands Nature Reserve.

Description

Boullanger Island is inside the Jurien Bay Marine Park, which was created in August 2003. The park is located 200 to 300 kilometres (120–190 miles) north of Perth, along the Indian Ocean Drive. It stretches from Green Head in the north to the southern edge of Nambung National Park. The park protects an important part of Western Australia’s central west coast, including Boullanger, Whitlock, and Escape islands.

Both Boullanger Island and Jurien Bay got their names on July 1, 1801, from a French expedition led by Nicolas Baudin on the Géographe. Boullanger Island is named after Charles-Pierre Boullanger, the mapmaker of the expedition. Jurien Bay is named after Charles-Marie Jurien, a French naval officer.

Animals and plants

Boullanger Island is home to a special type of small marsupial mouse called the Boullanger Island dunnart (Sminthopsis boullangerensis). This animal only lives on this island. It used to be thought of as a type of grey-bellied dunnart (S. griseoventer), so it was not separately listed by the IUCN in 2008. However, it was listed as critically endangered in 1996. The Australian government classifies the Boullanger Island dunnart as vulnerable, meaning it is at risk but not yet endangered.

References