Togian Islands
Encyclopedia
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of 56 islands and islets, in the Gulf of Tomini
Gulf of Tomini
The Gulf of Tomini is a gulf near the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia.It is bounded on its north and west sides by the Minahassa Peninsula and on the south side by the East Peninsula, Sulawesi....
, off the coast of Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi
Central Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia located in the centre of Sulawesi. It was established on 13 April 1964....
, in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The three largest islands are Batudaka, Togian, and Talatakoh. There are 37 villages on the islands.
Geology and ecology
Formed by volcanic activity, the islands are covered by rainforest and surrounded by coral reef formations, which provide habitat and breeding areas for hawksbill turtleHawksbill turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. E. imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while E...
, Green Turtle and the Dugong
Dugong
The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
. The Tonkean Macaque
Tonkean Macaque
The Tonkean black macaque or Tonkean macaque is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is endemic to central Sulawesi and the nearby Togian Islands in Indonesia. It is threatened by habitat loss....
is found in the islands' forests. The Togian Hawk-owl
Togian Hawk-owl
The Togian Boobook or Togian Hawk-owl, Ninox burhani is an owl described as new to science in 2004. The bird is currently known only from three islands in the Togian group, an archipelago in the Gulf of Tomini off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia...
, discovered in 1999, is endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the islands. The Togian White-eye
Togian White-eye
The Togian White-eye is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family.It is found in the Togian Islands of Indonesia, where it is endemic. The species was first spotted by University of Indonesia researcher Mochamad Indrawan and his colleague Sunarto in 1997, and formally described in 2008...
, another endemic bird species, was described in 2008.
National Park
On 2004, government has established a part of Togean Islands as National Park consists of 292,000 hectares sea water area (include 132,000 hectares coral reefs which is the largest in IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
), 70,000 land area and 10,659 hectares forest reservation and mangrove reservation.