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March of the gentle giants
Once close to extinction, the Aldabra giant tortoise has become a model for successful conservation, thanks in part to organisations such as the Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA). These remarkable reptiles embody the Seychelles’ spirit of resilience and hope for the future, writes IOTA Project Director RICH BAXTER
ONE of the surprising things to learn about Aldabra giant tortoises is that they can float, and float very well. They originally dispersed from Madagascar, riding the ocean currents to the Seychelles where they established themselves on the islands and became the giant tortoises you see today.
They’re hardy too: one tortoise on Aldabra, idly munching mangrove leaves, recently got caught out by the tide and swept out into the Indian Ocean; she washed up six weeks later on the shores of Tanzania. She survived her adventure by slowing down her metabolism, an ability that helps Aldabra giant tortoises survive long periods without food or water.
Unfortunately, this ability to survive caught the eye of early sailors exploring new lands and trade routes around the islands of the western Indian Ocean. Throughout the 1800s, the giant tortoises once found on many islands in the Seychelles were collected up and stored on ships, leading to extinction from all but one island.
"Aldabra is where you find the last of a lineage of giant tortoises that used to roam Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles. They play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape, benefitting all the species that reside there. We call them ecosystem engineers"
Key to their survival was their home, Aldabra Atoll, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seychelles' (if not the world’s) crown jewels. Aldabra is where you will find the last of a lineage of giant tortoises that used to roam the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles. On Aldabra, they number in the hundreds of thousands, creating more biomass per hectare than all of Africa’s elephants. In these large numbers, they play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of their remote home, benefitting all the species that reside there. For this reason, we call them ecosystem engineers.
"Raffles has its own tortoise sanctuary on Praslin with 11 rescued adults and two baby Aldabra giant tortoises"
From Aldabra, the tortoises have been sent all over the world and have become ambassadors of the incredible wildlife that can be seen in the Seychelles and the conservation successes the country has achieved. Organisations like the Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA) play a key role in this endeavour. It collaborates with other organisations and hotels such as Raffles Seychelles, which has its own tortoise sanctuary on Praslin with 11 rescued adults and two baby giant Aldabra tortoises, to carry out research and community engagement initiatives to ensure the long-term survival of these iconic reptiles.
IOTA focuses on introducing tortoises to islands where they once were, which is vital to protect healthy island ecosystems. Their engineering skills create diverse habitats by keeping the grasses short, disturbing soils, moving seeds and depositing large quantities of nutrients. Other animals are able to access their food more easily, such as the Seychelles magpie-robin that hops behind a moving tortoise to feed on the insects uncovered by its supersized stomp.
"These gigantic creatures hold a special place in the hearts of Seychellois people"
As the Project Director of a giant tortoise conservation organisation, I am endlessly captivated by the Aldabra giant tortoises that are conservation icons of the Seychelles archipelago. For these gigantic creatures, renowned for their colossal size and longevity, hold a special place in the hearts of Seychellois people. They stand as living relics of a bygone era, embodying the spirit of resilience and adaptation that defines the Seychelles' past and gives optimism for its future.
LIFE IN THE (VERY) SLOW LANE
10 steps to catching up with the Aldabra giant tortoise
Long lives
The oldest land animal in the world is an Aldabra giant tortoise called Jonathon who lives on St Helena and is reportedly 192 years old.
Size
Old does not mean large. Large tortoises are just those that have eaten a lot of food. They can weigh up to 350kg and reach over 1m.
Sensitive souls
Despite their tough exterior, Aldabra giant tortoises are sensitive to touch and love nothing more than a good neck rub.
Eggs
Female tortoises lay between eight and 20 eggs per season in a small nest. The eggs hatch after three months and the hatchling must fend for themselves.
Swimmers
Despite being slow moving giants on land, Aldabra tortoises are capable swimmers and can traverse shallow waters to go between islands.
Engineers
Their feeding habits and seed dispersal aid in maintaining the biodiversity of their habitat.
Solar power
Their shells evolved to withstand predation and provide protection against environmental hazards but are very sensitive to touch. They get their energy from sun rays hitting their shells.
Communication
Very few reptiles have vocal communication, but male Aldabra giant tortoises sound out loud bellows to attract females.
Age rings
Similar to tree rings, growth rings on their shells offer insights into their age and environmental history.
Survivors
Being able to survive the harshness of Aldabra atoll required survival skills, and tortoises have many. They can drink through their noses but also pull up water through their tails, and store it for many months.
Rich Baxter is Project Director of Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA), leading projects to repopulate islands with Aldabra giant tortoises and restore critical island habitats. Rich has worked on remote islands of the Seychelles and Mauritius where he developed a fascination with giant tortoises and how they survive island living.
Hero image photographed by Rich Baxter
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