Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Terres de 7 Couleurs (
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), Chamarel
BIRDS
The dodo may be Mauritius' most famous former inhabitant (other species that were driv-
en to extinction during the early colonial period include the red rail and the solitaire), but
Mauritius should be just as famous for the birds it has saved. In fact, an academic study in
2007 found that Mauritius had pulled more bird species (five) back from the brink of ex-
tinction than any other country on earth.
The birds you're most likely to see, however, are the introduced songbirds, such as the
little red Madagascar fody, the Indian mynah (its yellow beak and feet giving it a cartoon-
character appearance) and the red-whiskered bulbul. Between October and May the Rivu-
let Terre Rouge Bird Sanctuary (
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) estuary north of Port Louis provides an im-
portant wintering ground for migratory water birds such as the whimbrel, the grey plover,
and the common and curlew sandpipers.
MAURITIUS KESTREL
In 1974, the rather lovely Mauritius kestrel (which once inhabited all corners of the is-
land) was officially the most endangered bird species on the planet, with just four known
to survive in the wild, including, crucially, one breeding female. There were a further two
of the raptors in captivity. The reason for its dire position was all too familiar: pesticide
poisoning, habitat destruction and hunting. A captive-breeding program and an intensive
project of building predator-proof nesting boxes in the wild has led to an amazing recov-
ery, with numbers around 400.
PINK PIGEON
The pretty pink pigeon has also been pulled back from the brink. In 1986, this once-wide-
spread bird was down to just 12 individuals in the wild, close to Bassin Blanc in the
southern reaches of Black River Gorges National Park. In that year all five nesting at-
tempts were unsuccessful due to rats. The species appeared doomed. Again, an intensive
program of captive breeding and reintroduction into the wild has seen numbers soar, with
around 470 thought to be present throughout Black River Gorges National Park and on Île
aux Aigrettes (where there were 43 at last count). The MWF hopes that captive species in
European zoos may one day form part of the program as a means of ensuring the species'
genetic diversity.
