Pulu Keeling

Pulu Keeling National Park protects North Keeling Island, the northernmost atoll of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean, together with the sea out to 1.5 km from shore. The island is uninhabited and covers about 1.2 km² of land, more than 2,750 km north-west of Perth^[1]. It is a seabird rookery of international importance and a Ramsar wetland^[2].

North Keeling is the only surviving home of the endemic, endangered Cocos buff-banded rail, and it hosts large breeding colonies of red-footed boobies, lesser frigatebirds and common noddies. It may hold the world's largest red-footed booby colony^[2]. Ten threatened species occur in the park, including the green turtle and the robber crab^[1]. It is one of the few seabird sites in the Indian Ocean without feral cats or rats^[3].

Unusual closed-canopy forests grow on the island^[1], including pisonia forest^[3]. Coconut palms were recorded there as early as 1749. Six exotic plant species occur, but none is currently a severe problem^[3].

North Keeling is a coral atoll: a single C-shaped island forming a nearly closed ring, with a gap about 50 m wide on the east side opening into a lagoon of about 0.5 km²^[2].

At about 12 degrees south, the atoll has a tropical climate. Cyclone John in 1989 devastated the red-footed booby colony^[2].

Captain William Keeling is believed to have first sighted the islands in 1609. Charles Darwin visited aboard HMS Beagle in 1836 but could not land^[2]. Several graves remain from people with beriberi put ashore in the 19th century and from shipwrecks, and the German cruiser SMS Emden was beached there on 9 November 1914. Cocos Malay people hunted seabirds between the wars, and a 1986 agreement restricted hunting^[2]. Cultural sites include Malay graves and former campsites of Malay workers^[3].

The Australian Government bought the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 1978. The Shire Council agreed in principle in 1993 to lease the island for a national park, and the lease was signed in January 1995^[1]. The park was proclaimed on 12 December 1995 and listed as Ramsar Site 797 on 17 March 1996^[2]. It has the strictest IUCN category, Ia Strict Nature Reserve^[1].

The attractions are the seabird colonies, the lagoon and the surrounding coral reefs, where Indian and Pacific Ocean fish species meet^[1]. The wreck of SMS Emden is among the park's cultural sites^[3].

The island is managed mainly for scientific research and environmental monitoring, with limited visitation possible^[1]. Access is by permit only^[2]. It lies about 24 km north of West Island.

Parks Australia monitors seabird numbers continuously and guards against invasive species, notably yellow crazy ants, found in the pisonia forest, and scale insects, which have not been found so far. The reefs face climate change, bleaching, coral disease and crown-of-thorns starfish. Seabird and turtle populations have increased significantly through joint work with the Cocos Malay community^[3].