 The islands were formed by stabilising sea levels 5000 years before present.They were discovered by the Dutch in the seventeenth century and named the "Crocodils Eÿlandt".Several of the Crocodile Islands, with their associated mudflats, have been identified by BirdLife International as forming the Milingimbi Islands Important Bird Area (IBA) because they support large numbers of waders, or shorebirds.