Endemic wildlife: Mauritius's survivors

A unique and fragile natural world

Isolated in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Mauritius gave rise to species found nowhere else. Human arrival, deforestation and introduced species caused many extinctions, the dodo's among them. Since the 1970s, however, conservation programmes have managed to pull several species back from the brink, notably through the work of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, founded in 1984.

Three birds saved

• The Mauritius kestrel: in 1974, only four birds were known in the wild. Thanks to captive breeding and reintroductions, the population reached about 350 to 400 birds around 2000. But the species is declining again and was reclassified as Endangered in 2014.
• The pink pigeon: only about ten birds remained around 1990; an estimated 400 lived in several subpopulations by 2015.
• The echo parakeet (Mauritius parakeet): about ten birds in the early 1980s, around 650 by 2015.

These successes, often cited as models worldwide, remain fragile and depend on constant monitoring.

Île aux Aigrettes

Off Mahébourg, this coral islet of about 27 hectares has been a nature reserve since 1965. Visitors can see pink pigeons, Telfair's skinks and Aldabra giant tortoises, brought in to fill the ecological role of Mauritius's extinct tortoises. It is also home to an ebony named after the island, Diospyros egrettarum. Visits are guided.

Black River Gorges National Park

Established on 15 June 1994 and run by the National Parks and Conservation Service, the park covers about 67.5 km² of forest and ravines in the south-west. It shelters the Mauritian flying fox and many endemic birds: the kestrel, pink pigeon, echo parakeet, Mauritius bulbul, white-eyes, Mauritius fody and more. Several marked trails let you explore it.

Ebony Forest, Chamarel

Opened to the public in June 2017 after about ten years of restoration, the Ebony Forest reserve protects some of the island's last stands of mature ebony trees. More than 154,000 endemic plants have been planted and 34 hectares cleared of invasive species. You may spot echo parakeets, pink pigeons or kestrels.

Tips

Stay on the trails, don't feed the animals and don't take plants or seeds home. Set out early in the morning: it's the best time for birdwatching, and it's cooler.