completely wiped out, due to past hunting, biodiversity of other marine mammals, such as cetaceans and pinnipeds, have become very small and today are only a remnant of their historical numbers. Sperm whales and humpback whales, are the most likely of the larger whales to be observed around Nii-jima, using the island as either a resting ground or a migratory collider from, and to, the wintering grounds around the Bonin Islands. There are also sightings of extremely rare and critically endangered species such as the northern elephant seal (a vagrant was captured in 1989, making it the first record of the species in Japan) and North Pacific right whales (one whale stayed just several meters off the port in 2011, and kept tail-slapping continuously for several hours). Additionally the, possibly now-extinct, Japanese sea lion used to breed in the Izu Islands and in the vicinity of Nii-jima, there was a colony on Udone-shima. Although on a different island, in the past a saltwater crocodile has appeared on Hachijō-jima. Important Bird Area The island, along with Shikine-jima and some uninhabited islets nearby, have been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support populations of Japanese murrelets, Japanese wood pigeons, Pleske's grasshopper warblers, Ijima's leaf-warblers and Izu thrushes. Access Nii-jima is 2 hours and 20 minutes away by jet boat from Takeshiba Sanbashi Pier, in Tokyo, operated by Tōkai Kisen. Tōkai Kisen also operates a 9-hour overnight ferry. The ferry leaves Takeshiba Sanbashi at 22h00 (23h00 in the summer months) and arrives early morning in Izu Ōshima (approximately 6h00), before continuing on to To-shima (7h00), Nii-jima (8h00), Shikine-jima (8h30), and Kōzu-shima (9h30). The ferry then returns following the same route, leaving Nii-jima at 12h00 and docking in Tokyo at 17h00. It is possible that in rough weather, the ferry is unable to dock in Nii-jima. There are daily flights, weather permitting, from Chōfu Airport located in western Tokyo. The flight takes approximately 45 minutes. Other ferries leave from Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. Niijima-mura also operates a high-speed ferry between Nii-jima and Shikine-jima with 3 boats per day, and 4 per day in the summer months. History Nii-jima has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and archaeologists have found numerous remains from the Jōmon period, including stone and ceramic utensils. During the Edo period, as with Hachijō-jima, Nii-jima was used as a place of exile for convicts. The practice was