The Hans Lollik Islands are two privately-owned islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands owned by Larry Page. Page purchased Hans Lollik and its smaller neighboring island, Little Hans Lollik, in 2014 for $23 million.
Great Hans Lollik Island ("GHL") is found approximately 8,000 feet (2½ km) beyond the central northshore of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, separated from St. Thomas by the Leeward Passage. Little Hans Lollik and Pelican Cay lie to the north of Hans Lollik on the same shelf. The major part of the benthic zone around Hans Lollik is rocky and supports a dense diverse coral habitat.
The name of the two islands means "Hans from Lolland" in Danish, and is believed to be derived from a sailor who went by that moniker.
Terrestrial features
The terrestrial features of the Hans Lollik group are functions of their natural topography, exposure to trade winds, and consequences of human occupation. The east and northeast slopes experience regular northeasterly trade winds.
Human occupation has had a significant impact on the ecology of the island. From the early 18th century to the 1850s, the Virgin Islands were clear-cut and farmed. Local historians estimate that about of GHL was cultivated for cotton during this period. The steep profile of the island caused exposed soil to creep and wash into the sea as sediment run-off; some estimate that several feet of topsoil were lost during this agricultural period. In the 1940s and 1950s, GHL was logged for timber which was sold in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.}
The legacy of modern human occupation of Hans Lollik has produced an island dissimilar to that seen by the Arawak prior to the island's discovery by Europeans (at the end of the 15th century). Clear-cutting, burning, and logging have modified the island's vegetation. Seed stock for species once present on the island no longer exists locally. Fire allowed resistant species (e.g., thatch palm) to dominate, and logging left stock for a future forest canopy dominated by softwoods (e.g., loblolly pine, blolly, and Geiger tree).
Animal life
No native terrestrial mammals occur on either Great Hans Lollik or Little Hans Lollik. The black rat (Rattus rattus) was introduced by early European settlers within the last 500 years. The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), cats (Felis catus) and donkeys (Equus asinus) have been intentionally released. There should be four native species of bats present: Noctilio leporinus (a fishing bat), Molossus molossus (a small insectivore), Jamaican fruit bat Artibeus jamaicensis, and Antillean fruit-eating bat Brachyphylla cavernarum (a pollen and nectar feeder).
Reptiles and amphibians
The herpetofauna of Hans Lollik has not been well studied, but species composition should closely resemble that of St. Thomas. Several species of lizards, common on nearby islands, have never been documented on Hans Lollik.
Based on their distribution and habitat requirements on surrounding islands, one might expect the following species to be present as well: Iguana iguana, Hemidactylus mabouia, Spondylurus semitaeniatus and Amphisbaena fenestrata. Iguana pinguis, a species endemic to the Puerto Rico Bank, has been extirpated from most developed islands in the region, but might survive on one or more of the islands in the study area. Two snakes found on St. Thomas might occur on Hans Lollik: Typhlops richardii and Liophis exequuis. Liophis portoricensis (a lizard-eating ground snake) has been reduced in numbers or extirpated on the large islands within its range.
Avifauna
Many bird species are seasonal visitors to the offshore cays and are only in evidence at Hans Lollik during the summer breeding season. The most conspicuous birds at the study sites are the resident seabird species, including the brown booby (Sula melanogaster) and the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). Both species utilize the bait-rich waters of Hans Lollik for feeding; both species target white fry, blue fry, or false pilchard as preferred prey. The prime roosting spots for these species have been located and mapped by JDA to enable the site planning process to avoid these areas. Hans Lollik has no critical nesting sites for any bird species. The cliff-site nesting areas for the tropic bird are de facto protected from humans by their precarious cliff location.