The island's cliff-lined northwest coast serves as a breeding ground for
common guillemot,
Rhinoceros Auklet,
Spectacled Guillemot,
Japanese cormorant, and
slaty-backed gull. For this reason, on August 8, 1939, Teuri island was appointed as a natural
monument and now is known as "Teuri Island seabird breeding ground". The island has been recognised as an
Important Bird Area (IBA) by
BirdLife International for its
seabird colonies. On March 31, 1982, Teuri island was designated part of the Wildlife Protection Areas in Japan. In Haboro town, in order to protect wildlife such as seabirds, measures have been taken since April 2012 to control the increase of the local population of stray cats. Currently, Teuri island is covered with greenery, but in the
Meiji era, most of the forest in the island was lost due to settlers and the frequent occurrence of forest fires. After
World War II, Hokkaido began a land restoration project in order to reforest the island after the previous damage. Owing to the harsh natural environment on the island, the land restoration project underwent some difficulty, but the results were finally seen by August 1, 1990. The island is now designated as part of the
Shokanbetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park as one of the must-see sightseeing places in Japan. == Transport ==