This most remote of the northern Seychelle Islands is a hotbed of sexuality - for birds and giant tortoises. For humans it is an ecological thrill.
The sound of bird calls from thousands of birds can be heard day and night. They have no fear of humans and nest and mate in close proximity to the cottages, some in bushes and tree trunks. The giant Aldabra tortoises are always around. On the beaches crabs abound, living in holes beside which are piles of sand from their digging the holes.
In the water there are abundant turtles and some decent snorkeling, depending on time and tide. We saw sting rays, sharks of the harmless nurse variety, needlefish, many schools of silvery fish, squirrel fish and many other varieties. Not in the same league as Palau, the Maldives or St. John but still interesting.
The head man of the island is Robbie. He knows everything about the flora and fauna. Almost daily he goes to one or more of the many marked turtle nests and digs up the hatched babies to release them into the sea.
Cottages are good with decent showers and toilets and a variable speed fan set inside the ceiling of the mosquito-netted bed. Birds enter the room freely if you leave the windows open for maximum ventilation as we did. Lizards take care of insects inside. Buffet meals are satisfactory with some unusual touches like germinating coconut desert and fresh heart of palm salad.
Now, on to Praslin Island and some luxury.
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| The fist-sized germinating coconut seed yields soft chunks of "meat" after the shell has been broken and the contents cooked and sweetened. |
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| Frigate Birds fill the sky |
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| Crabs fill the beaches |
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| Birds fill the trees |
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| Giant Aldabra Tortoises roam freely |
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| Mother feeding chick at corner of dining room |
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| Crab holes and excavated sand |
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| Baby turtles after hatching |
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| Closeup |
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| Size comparison |
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| Foreplay consists of dancing on the female's back |
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| Climax |
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| Release of baby turtles, supervised by Robbie, conservationist and de facto ruler of the island. |
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| Another crab |
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| Cottage interio |
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| Cottage interior |
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| Caught in the act. |
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| Two more were attracted, one tried a sideways position. |
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| The third gave chase |
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| But the female found shelter under a low-hanging branch |
Cool trivia on the tortoises' lifespan, from Wikipedia:
ReplyDelete"Large tortoises are among the longest-lived animals on the planet. Some individual Aldabra giant tortoises are thought to be over 200 years of age, but this is difficult to verify because they tend to outlive their human observers. Adwaita was reputedly one of four brought by British seamen from the Seychelles Islands as gifts to Robert Clive of the British East India Company in the 18th century, and came to Calcutta Zoo in 1875. At his death in March 2006 at the Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) Zoo in India, Adwaita is reputed to have reached the longest ever measured life span of 255 years (birth year 1750).[18] Today, Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise, is thought to be the oldest living giant tortoise at 182 years old and Esmeralda second at 170 years old, since the death of Harriet at 176, a Galapagos giant tortoise. "