Ferney La Vallée is a forest and wildlife reserve situated in the Bambou mountains north of

Mahébourg Mahébourg is a small town on the south-eastern coast of the island of Mauritius, having a population of 15,457 as of 2015.Digest of Demographic Statistics 2015; Available at http://statsmauritius.govmu.org/English/Pages/POPULATION--And-VITAL-STAT ...

Grand Port District Grand Port () is a district of Mauritius, situated in the east of the island. The name means "large port" in French. The district has an area of 260.3 km2 and the population estimate was at 112,997 as of 31 December 2015. History Grand Por ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

. It is managed by the La Vallée de Ferney Conservation Trust.

History and location

The 200 hectare natural area was established at the end of 2006, as a conservation trust - with the land-owners in partnership with the

Mauritian Wildlife Foundation The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit conservation agency working in Mauritius to save threatened endemic local flora and fauna. History The Mauritian Wildlife Appeal Fund was established in 19 ...

(MWF) and local authorities. It was launched as a program for conservation and restoration of the indigenous forests of the valley. Awareness of the valley's biodiversity was raised in 2004 when a highway that was due to be constructed through the area threatened the local plants and animals with the necessary clearing of forest for the roads and tunnels. Surveys in the valley by the Environment Monitoring Committee led to the discovery of several species that were new to science, or were thought to have been extinct. It also predicted that a great many more new species would likely be discovered in the area. After local action and petitions, the highway development was successfully diverted. Ferney La Vallée is located north of the town of

. Its entrance is off the B 28 road, just north of Ferney Falaise Rouge, not far from Vallée de l'Est conservation area. The valley's land-form is largely composed of Tertiary volcanic series with a range of acidic and clay soils. It is wind-facing and its climate is humid throughout the year.

Facilities

As one of the last nature refuges on the island, Ferney La Vallée was opened to provide the public with an experience of the indigenous

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

. Hiking circuits run through the indigenous forests of the valley, past look-out points, and guided tours are regularly conducted. At the reserve's entrance at the bottom of the valley, a tiny stone museum displays the history of the area, with a nearby set of gardens of edible and useful plants. Higher up in the valley, the restaurant and visitors complex has been created from an old hunting lodge. Nearby are the

giant tortoises Giant tortoises are any of various large land tortoises Giant tortoise or giant tortoises may also refer to: * Galápagos giant tortoise, ''Chelonoidis nigra'' are a complex of the largest living species of tortoise. :: Pinta giant tortoise or ...

, and a nursery that makes

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

and

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 and inva ...

plants available for sale to local Mauritian visitors. A daily feeding of the endangered

kestrels The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...

is also conducted for visitors at this point.

Biodiversity

Ferney La Vallée is mostly composed of partially rehabilitated

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, with a large number of plant species, most of which are endangered or vulnerable. The valley was where several species were rediscovered after being thought extinct, such as '' Pandanus iceryi'' and '' Pandanus macrostigma''. '' Eugenia bojeri'' is another critically endangered species that was discovered for the first time in Ferney. In addition, several threatened animal species are protected in the reserve. These include the endangered

Mauritius kestrel The Mauritius kestrel (''Falco punctatus'') is a bird of prey from the family Falconidae endemic to the forests of Mauritius, where it is restricted to the southwestern plateau's forests, cliffs, and ravines. It is the most distinct of the Indi ...

(''Falco punctatus'') and the

Mauritian flying fox The Mauritian flying fox (''Pteropus niger''), also known as Greater Mascarene flying fox or Mauritius fruit bat is a large megabat species endemic to Mauritius and La Réunion. Description The Mauritian flying fox can reach a wingspan of 80&nb ...

(''Pteropus niger''), a

megabat Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera (bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera ''Acerodon'' and ''Pteropus''—flying foxes. They are the only member of the su ...

. Less than 2% of the indigenous ecosystems of Mauritius remain intact and Ferney La Vallée is one of the last nature preserves on the island. Future projects in the valley will include the large-scale propagation and introduction of indigenous and endemic plants to degraded parts of the valley, together with continued weeding of invasive alien plants. There will also be a re-introduction of the

birds

pink pigeon The pink pigeon (''Nesoenas mayeri'') is a species of pigeon in the family Columbidae 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 pigeon that has not beco ...

(''Columba mayeri'') and

echo parakeet The echo parakeet (''Psittacula eques'') is a species of parrot endemic to the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and formerly Réunion. It is the only living native parrot of the Mascarene Islands; all others have become extinct due to human activ ...

(''Psittacula echo''). The

, whose grazing action naturally assists in the regeneration of Mauritian forests, will also be released into the core conservation zone, to complete the re-establishment of the ecological balance of the forests. A nearby conservation area, Vallée de l'Est, is providing further protection for the area, in conserving and restoring an additional 70 hectares of rare highland forest.Conservation work in Vallée de l’Est
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References

External links

* Official website of ''La Vallée de Ferney Conservation Trust'': https://www.ferney.mu/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Vallee de Ferney Grand Port District Tourist attractions in Mauritius Landforms of Mauritius Environment of Mauritius Protected areas of Mauritius Valleys of Africa