Ile aux Aigrettes is an

islet An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/ ...

off the south-east coast of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. It functions as a nature reserve and a scientific research station. It is also a popular visitors attraction—both for tourists and for Mauritians.

Geography

It has an area of and is the largest

in the Grand Port bay, off the south-east coast of

and roughly a kilometer () from the coastal town of Mahebourg. It is low-lying and is formed from coral-limestone (unlike the majority of Mauritius which is from volcanic rock).

Nature reserve and conservation

''Ile aux Aigrettes'' conserves the world's only remaining piece of Mauritius Dry Coastal Forest—a once plentiful vegetation type. It is therefore home to a large number of extremely rare or

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

species of plants and animals. Over several hundred years, indigenous flora and fauna was devastated by logging and invasive species. In this sense, the islet shared the same fate as the rest of Mauritius. The

Dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinction, extinct flightless bird that was endemism, endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest relative was the also-extinct and flightles ...

and the indigenous species of

giant tortoise Giant tortoises are any of several species of various large land tortoises, which include a number of extinct species, as well as two extant species with multiple subspecies formerly common on the islands of the western Indian Ocean and on the ...

became extinct, as did many plant species. Relicts of some species survived though, and in 1965 the island was declared a nature reserve. There followed intense work to restore the vegetation and the few remaining indigenous animal species. In addition, several other species which had disappeared from the island—but survived elsewhere in Mauritius—were reintroduced. Reptile species include the large, slow Telfairs Skink, several species of ornately coloured

day gecko ''Phelsuma'' is a large genus of geckos in the family Gekkonidae. Species in the genus ''Phelsuma'' are commonly referred to as day geckos. Some day geckos are seriously endangered and some are common, but all ''Phelsuma'' species are CITES Appe ...

, and a population of non-indigenous

Aldabra giant tortoise The Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae and genus '' Aldabrachelys''. The species is endemic to the Seychelles, with the nominate subspecies, ''A. g. gigantea'' native to Alda ...

, brought to Île aux Aigrettes to take over the important ecological role of the extinct Mauritian tortoises. The large tortoises eat and spread the plant seeds and thereby help the forest to rejuvenate naturally.Cole, N. (2009). ''A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Mauritius''. Mauritius: MWF. The rare, endemic

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

tree species ''

Diospyros egrettarum ''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark timb ...

'' is named after this island, on which it is plentiful.

Endemic Mauritius animals on the island

Mauritius fody (Foudia rubra) male.jpg,

Mauritius fody The Mauritius fody (''Foudia rubra'') is a rare species of bird in the weaver family. It is endemic to the island of Mauritius. It is classified by BirdLife International as being endangered. It is also on the United States' Endangered Species L ...

(''Foudia rubra'') male Mauritius olive white-eye (Zosterops chloronothos).jpg,

Mauritius olive white-eye The Mauritius olive white-eye (''Zosterops chloronothos'', often mistakenly spelled ''Zosterops chloronothus''.) is a very rare and localized passerine from the family of white-eyes (''Zosteropidae''). It is one of two white-eye species endemic ...

(''Zosterops chloronothos'') Pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) 1.jpg,

Pink pigeon The pink pigeon (''Nesoenas mayeri'') is a species of pigeon in the family Columbidae Endemic (ecology), endemic to Mauritius. The pink pigeon nearly became extinct in the 1970s and the 1990s and is still very rare. It is the only Mascarene pigeo ...

(''Nesoenas mayeri'') Mauritius ornate day gecko (Phelsuma ornata).jpg,

Mauritius ornate day gecko The Mauritius ornate day gecko (''Phelsuma ornata'') is a diurnal species in the common gecko family, Gekkonidae. It occurs on the island of Mauritius, up to an elevation of , and most of the surrounding islands. It typically inhabits different ...

(''Phelsuma ornata'')

Other flora and fauna

File:Diospyros egrettarum - bois d ebene ile aux aigrettes - Mauritius 5.jpg, One of the local species of ebony, ''

'' (named after the island) File:Gastonia mauritiana canopy - Ile aux Aigrettes 1.jpg, ''

Gastonia mauritiana ''Polyscias maraisiana'' is a species of plant in the family Araliaceae, formerly named ''Gastonia mauritiana''. It is endemic to Mauritius, where it was formerly common on forest verges and also in coastal areas. It was formerly grown as an orn ...

'' ("Bois boeuf") forming part of the forest canopy File:Aldabra tortoise Ile aux Aigrettes - Mauritius.jpg, A non-indigenous

, brought to Île aux Aigrettes to take over the ecological role of the extinct Mauritian tortoises

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ile aux Aigrettes, Mauritius Islands of Mauritius Nature reserves Island restoration Tourist attractions in Mauritius Environment of Mauritius Protected areas of Mauritius