Aldabra Giant Tortoises

By the year 1900, the Aldabra giant tortoises on the atoll had been hunted almost to extinction, but today Aldabra boasts the largest population of giant tortoises anywhere in the world.

Historically, giant tortoises were the dominant herbivores on most of the islands of the Indian Ocean. All seven species that formerly lived on Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion and Rodriguez were exterminated by 1800 by early settlers and sailors who killed them for their meat.

After over 100 years of exploitation the giant tortoise population on Aldabra was similarly in serious danger of becoming extinct. The situation continued until around 1900, when a British naturalist offered to pay half the atoll’s lease to anyone who could ensure that the exploitation of the tortoises would cease. Fortunately, Aldabra Giant tortoises are remarkably hardy and survive under extremely harsh conditions, so the population was able to rebound once exploitation finally ended.

The current population of wild giant tortoises on Aldabra, which fluctuates around 100,000, is greater than the entire human population of 93,000 in Seychelles. Aldabra is also thought to have the largest population of giant tortoises anywhere else in the world!