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Giant Tortoise Population Thriving as 180,000 Found on One Island
Researchers say the population is the highest ever recorded and far exceeds the human population, a sign the species has rebounded from near-extinction.
- A recent survey led by the Seychelles Islands Foundation and the University of Exeter estimates approximately 180,000 Aldabra giant tortoises live on Aldabra Atoll, outnumbering the 122,000 humans residing in the Seychelles archipelago.
- Heavy exploitation during the 19th century reduced the population to fewer than 1,000, pushing the species toward extinction; strict nature reserve status in 1981 and UNESCO World Heritage designation in 1982 enabled recovery.
- Researchers based these figures on five years of tortoise counts conducted between 2018 and 2022. Co-author Nancy Bunbury noted that "the atoll's dense vegetation makes counting tortoises genuinely difficult in places."
- "More than 180,000 giant tortoises roaming freely on our atoll is proof of what long-term commitment to conservation can achieve," said Frauke Fleischer-Dogley, CEO of the SIF.
- Despite this success, study authors warn that vigilance remains essential as climate change brings longer droughts and rising sea levels threatening the atoll, while invasive species like feral cats and black rats endanger tortoise eggs and hatchlings.
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55 Articles
55 Articles
The giant tortoise is thriving: “Proof of what long-term commitment can achieve.”
·Gothenburg, Sweden
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·Madrid, Spain
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After Almost Going Extinct, Giant Tortoises Now Outnumber People in The Seychelles
(Martin Harvey/The Image Bank RF/Getty Images) Taking back their island home.ScienceAlert stories are written, fact-checked, and edited by humans, never generated by AI. Don't miss a story, subscribe here.
·Canberra, Australia
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Total News Sources55
Leaning Left3Leaning Right11Center25Last UpdatedBias Distribution64% Center
Bias Distribution
- 64% of the sources are Center
64% Center
C 64%
R 28%
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