Scuba Diver Australasia + Ocean Planet
PARADISE ABOVE AND BELOW
Aldabra’s enormous lagoon is fed and drained by four narrow channels to the ocean, which together provide the tidal heartbeat of the atoll, dominating all activity. The lagoon and coral reefs are largely unspoiled and teeming with colourful, diverse and abundant sea life. They are home to hundreds of tropical fish species and, in recent years, sightings of the rare dugong have been reported. The coral reef at Aldabra is an example of a stunning intact marine ecosystem with amongst the highest abundance of marine predators in the world. The waters act as a corridor for large migratory marine species including many species of whale and dolphin, marine turtles, whale sharks and several other large shark species.
Being on Aldabra is such a surreal experience that is often likened to going back in time. Giant tortoises of many species used to occur all over the world, roaming islands large and small, and of these, there are now only two species left. Aldabra’s 100,000 endemic giant tortoises make up the world’s largest remaining population of one of these ancient species, and it is three times larger than the better known Galápagos population. Similarly, flightless land birds, such as rails, used to be common on islands across the world but have been wiped out by colonising humans and invasive species. Aldabra now hosts a growing population of the last remaining flightless rail population in the Indian Ocean.
The atoll has been colonised by breeding seabirds in their tens of thousands: Greater and lesser frigatebirds, boobies, five species of tern including the large caspian tern, tropicbirds, and even an oceanic breeding colony of greater flamingos. Aldabra is also a turtle mecca, with an increasing number of turtles laying eggs on the beaches annually. And the atoll hosts one of the largest populations of the planet’s biggest terrestrial arthropod, the coconut crab. Other animals and birds found on Aldabra include colourful geckos, fruitbats, land birds, shore birds, and insects, many of which are endemic to the atoll.
Aldabra is a refuge for many and its extraordinary ecosystem is a place unlike any other – thankfully it has received the protection it deserves. This fragile island is indeed a land beyond imagination and a privilege for all those that visit.