Pelican Island is an island, with an area of 6.8 ha

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

 including an associated reef joined to it at low tide, in south-eastern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is part of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

’s Vansittart Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait

Bass Strait

Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...

 between Flinders

Flinders Island

Flinders Island may refer to:In Australia:* Flinders Island , in the Furneaux Group, is the largest and best known* Flinders Island * Flinders Island , in the Investigator Group* Flinders Island...

 and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. Until 1984 it was leased for grazing. The island is part of the Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area

Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area

The Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area comprises several small islands, with a collective total area of 1725 ha, lying in Franklin Sound between the much larger Flinders Island to the north and Cape Barren Island to the south, in the Furneaux Group of Tasmania, Australia.The islands...

, identified as such by BirdLife International

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...

 because it holds over 1% of the world populations of six bird species.

Fauna

Recorded breeding seabird

Seabird

Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...

 and wader

Wader

Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...

 species are Short-tailed Shearwater

Short-tailed Shearwater

The Short-tailed Shearwater or Slender-billed Shearwater , also called Yolla or Moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested...

, White-faced Storm-Petrel

White-faced Storm-petrel

The White-faced Storm Petrel , also known as White-faced Petrel is a small seabird of the storm-petrel family. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Pelagodroma....

, Pacific Gull

Pacific Gull

The Pacific Gull is a very large gull, native to the coasts of Australia. It is moderately common between Carnarvon in the west, and Sydney in the east, although it has become scarce in some parts of the south-east, as a result of competition from the Kelp Gull, which has "self-introduced" since...

, Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern

The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...

 and Sooty Oystercatcher

Sooty Oystercatcher

The Sooty Oystercatcher, Haematopus fuliginosus, is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries....

. An unidentified skink is present and there is evidence of the presence of feral cat

Feral cat

A feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...

s.