FLOWERS AND OWLS INVADE: Life on a new volcanic island.

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai – named after the two islands it is nestled between – was born in December 2014 after a submarine volcano erupted, sending a stream of steam, ash and rock into the air.

When the ash finally settled, it interacted with the seawater and solidified. A month later, the new island was formed.

The island might “last between six to 30 years.”