Tiga Island () is one of a group of small uninhabited volcanic islands in Kimanis Bay at the Interior Division, off the western coast of Kuala Penyu District, Sabah, Malaysia. The island is in size and has a couple of active mud volcanos at the highest part of the island. Tiga Island is one of the three islands that make up Tiga Island Park (TIP), the other being the Kalampunian Besar and Kalampunian Damit islands. The park headquarters are on the island, comprising an office complex, and accommodation for the park staff and visiting scientists. The waters around the island became the destination for scuba diving, deep diving, kayaking, and snorkelling activities.
Etymology
The island name of "Tiga" (literally "three" in English) is derived from three undulating humps which is visible from a distance when visitors approaching the island.
History
In 1594, the Dutch through Voorcompagnieën (a predecessor of the Dutch East India Company (VOC)) published a cartographer map of the East Indies based on the voyage of Petrus Plancius with several islands in the South China Sea such as Pulo Tigao/Putigao/Tigaon (Labuan), Pulo Tiga (Tiga Island), and Mon Pracem/Mompracem/Mōpracam (Kuraman Island) on the western coast of northern Borneo, all three islands was once under the thalassocracy of the Sultanate of Brunei.
With the earlier presence of the English East India Company (EIC) in Balambangan and Banggi islands within the waters of the Borneo coast in the 1700s and increase English dispute with Sulu chiefs, Sultan Muhammad Tajuddin sent an ambassador to urge the English to move their settlement nearer to Brunei, either on Labuan, Tiga, or Gaya Island. In 1765, British navigator Thomas Forrest, serving under the EIC, made a survey on the island. Following the establishment of a solid presence of the British through the North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC) and the subsequent British North Borneo state in 1881, Sultan Abdul Momin of Brunei, ceded both Sipitang and Kuala Penyu in 1884 where the cession stipulates to includes any islands located in the coast of the sea within the said territory.
The island of Tiga, located north of the Klias Peninsula, was mentioned in several sources as having been formed through the volcanic eruption near Borneo caused by a strong earthquake that occurred on Mindanao on 21 September 1897, The cause of erroneous data is believed to have originated from a 1986 study by McManus and Tate, who appear to have confused reports of an island forming off the Klias Peninsula in 1897 with an eruption of Tiga Island.
Climate
The island location within the tropical rain belt makes it susceptible to a rainy season throughout the year, with October to January among the wettest as part of the northeast monsoon, while the winds blow consistently throughout the southwest monsoon from April to October, leading to a period of dryness, while the least wet months are from February to April during the inter-monsoon period.
Conservation sites
thumb|left|A [[Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Grey-tailed racer) green snake found on the island, 2009]]
It was first classified as a forest reserve in 1933 by the authority of British North Borneo and then became a marine park in 1978 with the current management and jurisdiction falls within the purview of Sabah Parks. coupled with a variety of bird species, including Columba griseigularis, pied hornbills, and megapodes. It also becomes the habitat for mammals such as long-tailed macaques and reptiles such as monitor lizards and skinks, which can be spotted roaming around the island. It was also the setting of the first seasons of the British shows. The island was also rumoured to be the setting of the third season of Australian Survivor. However, it was later revealed that Samoa would be used as the location for the series.
Gallery
<gallery class="center">
File:Pulau Tiga Shore.jpg|Tree growing on Tiga Island shore
File:Tiga Crossroads.jpg|Tiga Island trail crossroads
File:Tiga Trails.jpg|Walking along one of the Tiga Island trails
File:Tiga Beach Tree.jpg|Fallen tree on a Tiga beach
</gallery>
See also
- List of islands of Malaysia