Aldabra giant tortoise population recovers in Seychelles

A new study published in Ecology and Evolution reveals that the Aldabra giant tortoise population in the Seychelles has rebounded to approximately 180,000 specimens. This figure now exceeds the human population of the archipelago.

Endemic to the Aldabra Atoll, these tortoises can live for over 200 years. The species faced near extinction due to European explorers and sailors who utilized them as a food source, reducing the population to fewer than 1,000 by the end of the 19th century.

Conservation efforts intensified in the 1980s when the Seychelles Islands Foundation began protecting the species. In 1982, the Aldabra Atoll was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The recent census, a collaboration involving the University of Exeter, utilized new technology to monitor the species in the difficult-to-reach areas of the atoll.