Letters

Is the tide turning for Curieuse? hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata and the green turtle Chelonia mydas. There are also 'Curieuse tortoises on the way out?' {Oryx, 22, extensive coral reefs, rich in many species of 4-5), illustrated the precarious situation of the in- flora and fauna, surrounding the Island. This, troduced population of giant tortoises together with its terrestrial ecological features, Geochelone gigantea on , makes Curieuse an extremely valuable natural . resource. The Zoological Society of London expedition in The Zoological Society of London is seeking 1986 detected problems that the tortoises and funds from concerned organizations and indi- the Island as a whole are facing, and a conserva- viduals to implement the proposed conservation tion plan was drawn up to attempt to halt any plan and to help the Government of Seychelles further escalation of destruction. This plan has in its efforts to preserve the Aldabra giant tortoise recently been approved by the Government of population and its unique environment on Seychelles and its main features include: the Curieuse Island. For further information, please construction of a secure rearing unit for hatchling contact: Mr Dave Spratt, The Zoological Society tortoises, an educational and conservation of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY. centre and the implementation of anti-poaching programmes. Jaime Samour PhD, Al-Areen Wildlife Park, PO Box 28690, In the educational centre it is planned to illus- State of Bahrain. trate, through graphic displays, the ecology of Ankarana damaged both the Aldabra atoll and the Seychelles group, and to assemble a museum collection of the en- The Ankarana reserve in Northern Madagascar, demic flora and fauna. Another section of the which was described in the July issue of Oryx graphic display will illustrate the importance of (22, 163-171), suffered serious damage from conservation in the Indian Ocean as a whole. commercial logging earlier this year. Reports Anti-poaching measures will include: adequate indicate that up to 30 per cent of the reserve's legislation governing visits to the Island, either by semi-deciduous canopy forest has been clear tourists or local residents; sign posting around felled, the bulk of the damage occurring in the the coastal plateaux stating the laws governing Canyon Grand area (P. Vaucolon, pers. comm.). access; posters and leaflets at the main hotels and public places highlighting the conservation effort As described in Oryx these forests are home to being undertaken; and additional personnel to a number of rare species. The white breasted help patrol the Island. mesite Mesitomis variegata (recorded from only two other localities), is especially threatened by Curieuse was once described as 'the most barren the incursion. It was quite common in the Can- and eroded Island in the Indian Ocean'. Several yon Grand, but had a very limited distribution fires in the first half of this century destroyed elsewhere in the reserve. Lemurs, including the most of the existing native vegetation. Today, aye-aye Daubentonia madagascariensis, crowned thanks to the efforts of the Government, refores- lemur Lemur coronatus and Sanford's lemur tation programmes have transformed most of its Lemurfulvus sanfordi are also threatened by the landscape, and much of its natural vegetation is loss of these forests, which were an important dry flourishing. Some of the plants found on the season refuge. Island are in the Red Data Book: Nephrosperma vanhoutteanum (Vulnerable), Deckenia nobilis Since the July article was written two more lemur (Vulnerable), Pandanus hornei (Indeterminate), species have been discovered at the reserve: the Gastonia seychellarum (Endangered) and Toxo- grey gentle lemur Hapalemur griseus and the carpus schimperianus (Vulnerable). The Island Perrier's diadem sifaka Propithecus diadema and neighbouring are the only islands perrieri, bringing the total to 10 extant species. with wild Coco de Mer palms mal- The grey gentle lemur (which is possibly the sub- diuica. Curieuse also has nine coastal plateaux, species H.g. occidentalis, recorded from just two which are well-known nesting sites for the other localities) was seen only in the Canyon 240 Oryx Vol 22 No 4, October 1988

Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.35.76, on 25 Sep 2021 at 23:17:15, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300022389