La Digue - Wildlife

Wildlife

As mentioned before, La Digue is the home to the critically endangered paradise flycatcher. However, there are more rare and endangered animals that live on this island and since the Seychelles are quite detached from the rest of Africa, many of the species are endemic to La Digue. There is a significant population of giant tortoises, but these come from the island Aldabra. The subspecies that lived on La Digue is now extinct. From the arthropod group there is, for example, the Seychelles coconut crab which likes to dig holes in the backyards of the Seychellois people. Among others, there are fodys, sunbirds and terns but also fruitbats, sheath-tailed bats and geckos.

The marine wildlife of La Digue should not be overlooked. The reefs as well as lagoons of La Digue offer a large amount of flora and fauna. Green sea turtles live on the very edges of the coral reefs and they sometimes venture closer to the island. There are butterfly fish, eagle rays, murray eels and many other species of fish. Also, divers and snorkellers may be lucky enough to see blacktip reef sharks or even whale sharks, which come mainly in the winter but can be seen all year round.

Sadly, the animals that have traditionally lived on La Digue are threatened by animals that were brought there by the first inhabitants - rats, dogs, cats etc. The rat population was probably the first animal that was brought to the Seychelles. It quickly made many birds go extinct by eating their eggs and threatening their nests. The dog and cat population is not nearly as much of a threat, but it still is something that the original species of Seychelles are not used to. The marine flora and fauna is threatened by the increasing amount of tourists who damage corals and by the amount of boats that pollute the clear waters of La Digue. Also, there is concern that global climate change may be causing the corals to die, but that is not only the issue of La Digue.