What kinds of plants and animals are found at Heard Island?
Because Heard Island has a cold and harsh climate, and because it is so far away from any continental land mass (about 4000 km from Australia, 4700 km from Africa and 1000 km from Antarctica) the number of species of plants and animals present is not high, compared with milder temperate or tropical areas. However, because Heard Island is one of very few exposed land areas in the Southern Ocean, and because oceanic nutrients are driven from deeper waters to surface waters when strong currents circling Antarctica run into the submarine Kerguelen Plateau in which the islands lie, terrestrial and marine life are abundant. Go to the Plants, Animals and Marine pages of the Nature section for more information.
