Scientists discover 180,000 #GiantTortoises on one #Seychelles island
Free-roaming #Aldabra population far exceeds human population of Seychelles after decades-long recovery programme
8 October 2026
Excerpts: "A survey of the world’s largest free-roaming giant tortoise population has discovered that the once #EndangeredSpecies is thriving.
"A population of Aldabra giant tortoises lives on an island in Seychelles called #Aldabra Atoll.
"The most recent survey, led by #SeychellesIslandsFoundation (SIF) and the University of Exeter, revealed there were approximately 180,000 tortoises living on the island. This is the highest figure ever recorded for the species and far exceeds the human population of Seychelles.
"The new figure was obtained by a team who analysed five years of tortoise counts between 2018 and 2022. It is the first update since a widely cited figure of 100,000 tortoises from the late 1990s.
Aldabra Atoll is one of only two places in the world where giant tortoises are found in the wild, with a much smaller population living in the #Galápagos.
Dr Frauke Fleischer-Dogley, the CEO of SIF, said: 'More than 180,000 giant tortoises roaming freely on our atoll is proof of what long-term commitment to #conservation can achieve. This is wonderful news for Seychelles, for the world, and for everyone who has worked to protect Aldabra.'
[...]
" 'These results are great news for the tortoises and testament to the fantastic work done in the field,' said Dr Dave Hudson, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall campus.
" 'But it’s important to remember that the numbers provide a baseline – not an endpoint.
" 'Hopefully we have provided the conservation managers the evidence they need to track future change and act early as the tortoises face increasing pressures from #ClimateChange , drought and #InvasiveSpecies.”
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/izmAL
#SolarPunkSunday #EndangeredSpecies #WildlifeConservation #Tortoises
#SolarPunkSunday #RestoringNature #Rewilding
