SEYCHELLES, MAURITIUS, RODRIGUES & REÙNION TOUR REPORT 2024

18 - 29 September 2024

by Hannu Jännes

The islands of the Seychelles, Mauritius, Rodrigues and Réunion located in the western Indian Ocean are the true paradise islands of the imagination offering exotic holidays on palm-fringed beaches lapped by turquoise seas. They are also one of the world’s main centres of bird extinctions with at least 30 species of birds, plus a whole range of reptiles, becoming extinct since man first visited the islands just 350 years ago. Despite this sad history of extinctions, these islands are still home to large numbers of endangered birds and now major conservation efforts are in place to try to save them. We saw a total of 85 species of birds during the tour including all 30 endemic landbirds that still survive, plus a good number of other interesting species including a good selection of seabirds. During our most enjoyable circuit of these friendly, welcoming countries there were many avian highlights including a brilliant pair of Seychelles Kestrel inside the airport building, Seychelles Scops Owl, Crab-plover, Seychelles Black Parrot, Seychelles Magpie-Robin, Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher, voted as bird of the trip, Seychelles White-eye and a surprise Pectoral Sandpiper all in the scenic Seychelles; Rodrigues Warbler and Rodrigues Fody on Rodrigues; Mauritius Kestrel, Echo Parakeet, Pink Pigeon, Mauritius Fody, Mauritius Grey and Mauritius Olive White-eyes and Mauritius Cuckooshrike on Mauritius; Barau’s Petrel, Reunion Harrier, Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher, a total of four Reunion Cuckooshrikes and confiding Reunion Stonechats on Réunion. We visited magnificent seabird colonies teeming with Wedge-tailed and Tropical Shearwaters, Lesser and Brown Noddies, very elegant White, Sooty and Bridled Terns, White-tailed and Red-tailed Tropicbirds, Trindade Petrel and numerous Great plus a few Lesser Frigatebirds. A good selection of reptiles added to the fun, but only a few mammals were seen. All told this is probably one of the easiest Birdquest tours, with very relaxed daily itineraries, only a couple of longer, but nonetheless easy, walks, mostly great weather, good food and infrastructure with excellent accommodations and very knowledgeable local guides.

This ‘Islands of the Indian Ocean’ tour began mid-morning at the Mahé airport on the Seychelles, from where we took a small plane to the nearby island of Praslin. After checking into our pleasant hotel and late lunch, we visited the nearby beach for birding. The tide was very high and most of the waders we were hoping to see, were gone, but we found a weak Red-footed Booby, the only one of the tour, hiding behind the bushes, and there was a steady movement of Brown Noddies and a few Lesser Noddies over the sea. Other birds seen during the afternoon included our first Seychelles Swiftlets, Seychelles Blue Pigeons, Seychelles Sunbirds and Seychelles Black Parrots. This rather dull looking parrot is the national bird of Seychelles. It breeds only on Praslin with a total population of 340-600 individuals and is currently listed as vulnerable by Birdlife International.

Next morning we were back on the beach and found, amongst a flock of commoner waders, an adult Pectoral Sandpiper, a rare bird in this part of the world. After breakfast we were taken by boat to the nearby island of Cousin, which was bought by the Royal Society for Wildlife Trusts in 1968 to protect the dwindling population of Seychelles Warblers. Ownership transferred to BirdLife International in 2002 and it is now managed by the local NGO Nature Seychelles. The 29 hectares of woodland are inhabited by thousands of seabirds providing an unforgettable spectacle. We strolled around accompanied by our guide Robyn, who has been living on this island for years and knows it probably better than anybody else, and soon had great views of the three landbird targets the Seychelles Warbler, Seychelles Fody and the attractive Seychelles Magpie-Robin. The warbler and the fody are drably attired and forage quietly in the lower storey, but the handsome Magpie-Robins, all of which are colour ringed and closely monitored, allowed eye-ball to eye-ball views! Worryingly the Cousin population of these attractive birds has recently dropped dramatically and is currently only five birds! The robins originate from Frégate from where they were translocated for conservation purposes in 1994, and to Cousine (in 1995), Aride (2002) and Denis (2008). The species was formerly widespread in Seychelles but disappeared from most former haunts between 1878 and the 1930s and reached the all-time low in 1965 when only 12-15 birds survived on Frégate. Now, thanks to conservation measures, and translocations to other islands, the total population was estimated to be 283 individuals in 2015, and the species is no longer classified as critically endangered. Although it was great to see these three rare landbirds, for me the highlight of the day, and pretty much the entire tour, was being able to witness a tropical seabird island in all its glory! Many Lesser Noddies and beautiful White Terns hovered overhead or sat quietly within the canopy. Tens of White-tailed Tropicbirds sat amongst tree roots or in natural cavities and allowed close approach. We walked up the hill where a Wedge-tailed Shearwater tried to hide in its shallow burrow and adult Brown Noddies displayed. Skinks and geckos were everywhere, and the large Wright’s Skinks made a special impression. Later in the afternoon we explored the atmospheric palm forest of the Vallée de Mai. The amazing Coco de Mer Palms (Lodoicea maldivica), which boast the largest seed in the world, together with several other palm species, create an almost surreal forest. On the beautiful walk we found several Seychelles Bronze and Green Geckos, a Seychelles Tree Frog well spotted by Heather and two Tail-less Tenrecs (introduced from Madagascar).

Next day, after the optional beach walk, we took a boat to the island of Aride, a tropical seabird paradise. Our original plan was to land on the island, but as it was closed to visitors during the time of our visit, and we were limited to sailing around it admiring a thousand or so frigatebirds roosting on the island’s trees. They breed on another island several hundred kilometres away and spend their post-breeding time here. The great majority were Great Frigatebirds, but a few Lesser Frigatebirds were seen too. Also seen during the trip were Sooty and Bridled Terns, Lesser and Brown Noddies, White-tailed Tropicbirds, Wedge-tailed and big flocks of Tropical Shearwaters. Later we landed on the rather touristy island of Curieuse and walked cross the island to a bay, where the introduced Aldabra Giant Tortoise gather around the picnic area and are fed by visiting tourists. While admiring the tortoise, I got a message from the Birdquest office that our scheduled mid-day flight from Seychelles to Mauritius had been cancelled, and the next direct flight wouldn’t be until two days later. As this delay would have completely ruined our itinerary on Mauritius and Rodrigues, the office had been working overtime to find alternative flights and it seemed that the only possible way to get to Mauritius in time was to fly first to Doha and from there to Mauritius. Suddenly our pleasant few hours long direct mid-day flight to Mauritius had become a 16-hour long ordeal involving a red-eye flight!

The following morning, our last on Praslin, we took the ferry to La Digue island and went straight to a small reserve for Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher. On this occasion the flycatcher proved easy to find, and we enjoyed brilliant views of several individuals including a nest building pair and a juvenile bird. The male of this species is a magnificent looking creature, and it is no wonder that Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher was later voted as the bird of the trip! Historically it was known from five islands, but only survived into modern times on La Digue although it has recently been reintroduced to Saint Denis and Curieuse. The species seems to be doing well, and the current population of this endangered species is now over 500 individuals. After spending quite some time with this gem of a bird, we travelled back to Praslin and took a flight to the island of Mahé, where, after a quick check-in to our hotel, we were ready for more birding adventures. Our local birding guide took us to the Morne Seychellois National Park, where, after a wait, we heard the gruff calls of a Seychelles Scops Owl, but it took quite some time before we had good views of it sitting on an open perch. This species occurs only in the highlands of Mahé, and the population is currently estimated to be around 300 individuals.

As we had already seen all the endemic species except the Seychelles White-eye, it wasn’t difficult to figure out the program for the last day on the Seychelles. After breakfast our local guide took us straight to the area where most, if not all, recent white-eye observations on Mahé come from, but we still struggled to find it. Apparently, there is currently only one bird left in this area, and it can be tricky to find. After searching the area for the whole morning without any results, we drove to Victoria, the capital of Seychelles, for a good lunch and visited a mangrove-lined mudflat on the outskirts of Victoria, where we found Striated Heron (of the endemic race degens), Western Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Common Greenshank, Terek Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Tern. Later in the afternoon we were back at the white-eye site and soon located our target, which was now very co-operative and showed well to all. Where had it been for the whole morning? Apparently, the small white-eye population on Mahé had been quite stable with 35-40 individuals for many years, but it had started to decrease recently with currently only a few individuals left. Luckily another population, discovered as recently as 1997, is on the offshore islet of Conception that has over 300 individuals. Also, the species has now been translocated to three other islands, and the total population is now estimated at 500-650 individuals, and its conservation status has been downgraded from critically endangered to vulnerable recently. Other birds seen during the white-eye chase included scores of modestly-clad Seychelles Sunbirds, stunning Seychelles Blue Pigeons, raucous Seychelles Bulbuls, elegant White-tailed Tropicbirds and many Malagasy Turtle Doves and Red Fodies. Just before midnight we boarded our flight to Doha and started our long journey to the island of Mauritius, where we arrived late in the afternoon of the following day and went directly to our pleasant hotel for a well-deserved rest.

Our first day in Mauritius, which exudes a very different atmosphere to that of the Seychelles, began with a visit to a valley, where a pair of Mauritius Kestrel provided brilliant views. In 1974 only four Mauritius Kestrels were left, but thanks to a major captive breeding effort there are now around 400 kestrels hunting geckos on Mauritius. Other new birds here included an Echo Parakeet carrying a transmitter and a long antenna on its back, a few Pink Pigeons hanging around a feeding station and Common Waxbills, an introduced species here. En route we also visited a Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher territory and had a great encounter with a pair. The Mauritius form desolata of this species is quite scarce and hard to find. The lunch break was spent at the entrance of the Black River Gorges National Park where we had more views of the Pink Pigeon, enjoyed co-operative Mauritius Fodies, another declining endemic species, and saw a few endemic Mauritius Bulbuls around. A short visit to a huge statue of Indian god Shiva nearby produced another new species, Mascarene Martin, before it was time to head for the airport and the next leg of our journey, a 1,5-hour flight to the small island of Rodriques, situated 560 kms east of Mauritius. It was already dark when we landed on the island and, after the hassle of finding our driver and minibus, we transferred to our comfortable beach hotel in Port Mathurin for a one-night stay.

Rodrigues is an arid island covered mainly by scrub in the lowlands, but forest patches survive on the slopes of the hills. One of these forest patches is at Grande Montagne Nature Reserve, where we birded for a couple of hours the following morning. With the help of our excellent local guides, we soon connected with both Rodrigues endemics Rodrigues Warbler and Rodrigues Fody. The colourful Fody was admired displaying at close range and the olive-coloured Warbler showed well on several occasions. The populations of both species are now in their thousands, and both are doing well after a period of disastrous years in the seventies, when their numbers became critically low. We were also taken to a big roost of the endemic Rodrigues or Golden Flying Foxes and saw the introduced Indian Masked Shrew. The display at the small education centre of the nature reserve told the sad story of the extinctions on the island. Since the first explorers reached it a species of giant tortoise and nine species of birds, including the famous Solitaire, two owls, a night heron and a rail have disappeared from the Rodrigues fauna forever. On the way back to our hotel we stopped at a viewpoint and had distant flight views of White-tailed and Red-tailed Tropicbirds. The latter being a new bird for the trip. After lunch in our hotel, we flew back to Mauritius, arriving late in the afternoon.

Next day we explored a part of the famous Black River Gorges National Park, where a walk along the Maccabe trail produced a few confiding Echo Parakeets (this time without the distraction of antennas), Mauritius Bulbuls and some very showy Mauritius Grey White-eyes. Finding the endemic Mauritius Cuckooshrike was much easier than I had anticipated, and we had good views of two pairs. Later we checked a site where the rare Mauritius Olive White-eye still exists and managed to locate two birds. Sadly, the views obtained were rather brief and some of us completely missed the species on this occasion. This species is critically endangered, with a population fewer than 150 pairs, that is still declining!

We then drove to north end of the island, where we boarded our large fishing boat and headed for the famous offshore seabird paradise of Round Island. The sea was quite rough, but our big boat handled the waves very well, and after a two-hour sail, we reached the island. For the next 1,5-hour we stayed on the sheltered side of the Round Island and admired graceful, gleaming white Red-tailed Tropicbirds that were patrolling the cliffs and the nearby ocean and the Trindade (Round Island) Petrels, of which we observed both pale and dark morphs, flying past our vessel and over the island. It has now been established that the Round Island Petrel complex comprises three very hard to differentiate taxa, making for a very complicated taxonomic situation. During the sail between Round Island and Grand Baie, our harbour on the main island, we sighted many Masked Boobies, a Humpback Whale, Brown Skua and Flesh-footed and Tropical Shearwaters.

On our last morning in Mauritius we visited Ile des Aigrettes, a ten-minute boat ride from the mainland. This small predator free offshore island has been used as a haven for the Pink Pigeon, Mauritius Fody and Mauritius Olive White-eye, which we all saw well and even got some images of. Apparently, the white-eye population here is now around 20 pairs, each with their own nectar feeding station!
In the afternoon we took the short flight to nearby Réunion and drove straight to our hotel in Saint Denis for an early break. Réunion is a department of France, and it felt as if we had arrived on the Côte d’Azur with its bistros and gendarmes. Early the following morning the endless winding road took us from the sea level to the hamlet of Le Brûlé at ca1200 metres above sea level, from where we started to walk along the famous trail towards the landmark of La Roche Écrite. The highlands of Réunion are covered in plantations of introduced Japanese Red Cedar in good stretches of native forest. Well laid out trails cover large portions of these otherwise hard to access mountains. The highest top reaches 3,070 m and Réunion harbours the famous Piton de la Fournaise, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Our morning walk along the muddy trail produced all the target birds with Reunion Stonechat, Reunion Grey and Reunion Olive White-eyes, both of which proved to be rather common, the very smart Mascarene Paradise Flycatchers, two Reunion Harriers and Reunion Bulbuls. As expected, the Reunion Cuckooshrike proved hardest of the endemics to find. Our first encounter was a pair on the other side of a forested valley, where they sat calling on treetops and in bushes for some time. Later we came across another calling pair, which eventually came to check us out and gave good close-up views. The population of this critically endangered species is currently as low as 26 breeding pairs, so we had come across a good proportion of the world population! Nest predation by Black Rats appears to be the main threat. Another problem is that two thirds of the remaining individuals are male, and this ratio has worsened for unknown reasons. From 2010, predator control measures by the Société d’Etudes Ornithologiques de La Réunion (SEOR), with support from the BirdLife Preventing Extinctions Programme, have shown positive results. In the afternoon we drove along a good highway to the southwest of the island, where from a carefully selected vantage point we did a seawatch that produced hundreds of Barau’s Petrels, often at close range giving us great views of a species that remained undescribed until 1964. We also saw Wedge-tailed and Tropical Shearwaters. On the final morning of the tour, we decided to drive up to the famous viewpoint of the Piton Maïdo but had to turn back before reaching our destination due to incorrectly estimating driving time. After some packing and check-out, it was time to head for the airport and say thank-you to everyone for being such great company, which, together with the great birding and exciting places, combined to make this a most memorable tour.

BIRDS OF THE TOUR

1^st Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher

2^nd Mauritius Kestrel

3^rd Mauritius Grey White-eye

SYSTEMATIC LIST OF SPECIES RECORDED DURING THE TOUR

Species marked with the diamond symbol (◊) are either endemic to the country or local region or considered ‘special’ birds for some other reason (e.g., it is only seen on one or two Birdquest tours; it is difficult to see across all or most of its range; the local form is endemic or restricted-range and may in future be treated as a full species).

The species names and taxonomy used in the bird list follows Gill, F., Donsker, D., & Rasmussen, P.(Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v14.1).

Where the subspecies seen is/are known, these are often given in parentheses at the end of the species comment.

BIRDS

Grey Francolin (introduced) Ortygornis pondicerianus Noted in Mauritius.

Seychelles Swiftlet ◊ Aerodramus elaphrus Endemic. Small numbers were seen daily in the Seychelles.

Mascarene Swiftlet ◊ Aerodramus francicus Endemic. Small numbers in Mauritius and Réunion.

Rock Dove (introduced) (Feral Pigeon) Columba [livia] var_domestica

Malagasy Turtle Dove ◊ Nesoenas picturatus

Pink Pigeon ◊ (Mauritius P P) Nesoenas mayeri Endemic to Mauritius where noted on three days.

Spotted Dove (introduced) Spilopelia chinensis Observed on two days in Mauritius.

Zebra Dove (introduced) Geopelia striata Widespread. Seen on all main islands visited except on Rodrigues.

Seychelles Blue Pigeon ◊ Alectroenas pulcherrimus Endemic. Common and widespread in the Seychelles.

Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus On Seychelles Asiatic subspecies orientalis, endemic pyrrhorroa in Mauritius and Réunion.

Grey Plover (Black-bellied P) Pluvialis squatarola Small numbers in the Seychelles.

Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula Two in Seychelles.

Tibetan Sand Plover Anarhynchus atrifrons A total of four in the Seychelles.

Greater Sand Plover Anarhynchus leschenaultii A total of seven in the Seychelles.

Eurasian Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus

Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica One in the Seychelles.

Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus A total of five in the Seychelles.

Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos

Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia

Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres

Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea

Sanderling Calidris alba

Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos One adult bird at Praslin.

Crab-plover Dromas ardeola One on Cousin Island.

White Tern Gygis alba Seen daily in the Seychelles with brilliant views of breeding birds on Cousin. Ssp. candida.

Brown Noddy Anous stolidus

Lesser Noddy ◊ Anous tenuirostris

Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus

Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus

Little Tern Sternula albifrons One on the tidal flats Mahe.

Greater Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii A handful of birds in the Seychelles.

Brown Skua (Subantarctic S) Stercorarius antarcticus One from the boat at sea in Mauritius.

Red-tailed Tropicbird ◊ Phaethon rubricauda Two distant birds on Rodrigues and great views of tens of birds around Round Island in Mauritius.

White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus Seen on all main islands with great views of breeding birds on Cousin.

Trindade Petrel ◊ (Round Island P) Pterodroma arminjoniana Fifty or so around Round Island.

Barau’s Petrel ◊ Pterodroma baraui Common off the coast in Réunion.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica Noted in the Seychelles, Mauritius and Réunion.

Tropical Shearwater ◊ Puffinus bailloni 300 or so from the boat in the Seychelles and 100 in Réunion.

Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel Small numbers around Aride in the Seychelles.

Great Frigatebird Fregata minor 1000 or so on Aride and a few more elsewhere in the Seychelles.

Red-footed Booby Sula sula Only one, a sick bird, on Praslin in the Seychelles.

Masked Booby ◊ Sula dactylatra 20 from the boat in Mauritius.

Yellow Bittern Ixobrychus sinensis One Mahe, Seychelles.

Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax Two in the Seychelles.

Striated Heron (Green-backed H) Butorides striata Endemic form degens in the Seychelles and ssp javanica in Rodrigues and Mauritius

Western Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Noted in good numbers in Mahe and a few in the Seychelles.

Grey Heron Ardea cinerea

Reunion Harrier ◊ Circus maillardi Endemic. Two birds were seen.

Seychelles Scops Owl ◊ Otus insularis Endemic. One was seen and another one heard in Mahe.

Unidentified Falcon Falco sp Non-leader. A falcon seen by some in Réunion was originally identified as Peregrine Falcon, but as this species doesn’t occur in Reunion it was probably some other species of Falco. Perhaps Sooty or Eleonora’s Falcon?

Mauritius Kestrel ◊ Falco punctatus Endemic. Two, a pair, in the Ebony Forest, Mauritius.

Seychelles Kestrel ◊ Falco araeus Endemic. First a rather distant bird near our accommodation in Praslin, then a breeding pair inside the airport building in Praslin.

Seychelles Black Parrot ◊ Coracopsis barklyi Endemic. Noted daily in Praslin.

Rose-ringed Parakeet (introduced) (Ring-necked P) Psittacula krameri

Echo Parakeet ◊ (Mauritius P) Psittacula eques Endemic. Great views on Mauritius.

Mauritius Cuckooshrike ◊ Lalage typica Endemic. Two pairs along the Maccabe trail in Mauritius.

Reunion Cuckooshrike ◊ Lalage newtoni Endemic. Two pairs along the trail to La Roche Ecrite in Réunion.

Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher ◊ Terpsiphone corvina Endemic. A total of seven at the reserve on La Digue. Bird of the trip!

Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher ◊ Terpsiphone bourbonnensis Endemic to Mauritius and Réunion. Subspecies desolata on Mauritius and bourbonnensis in Réunion.

House Crow (introduced) Corvus splendens

Reunion Bulbul ◊ Hypsipetes borbonicus Endemic. Ten or so in Réunion.

Mauritius Bulbul ◊ (M Black B) Hypsipetes olivaceus Endemic. Ten or so in Mauritius.

Seychelles Bulbul ◊ Hypsipetes crassirostris Endemic. Noted daily in the Seychelles.

Red-whiskered Bulbul (introduced) Pycnonotus jocosus Common and widespread in Mauritius and Réunion.

Mascarene Martin ◊ Phedina borbonica Noted in Mauritius and Réunion. Ssp. borbonica.

Seychelles Warbler ◊ Acrocephalus sechellensis Endemic. Good views on Cousin Island.

Rodrigues Warbler ◊ Acrocephalus rodericanus Endemic. Good views in Grande Montagne NP.

Reunion Olive White-eye ◊ Zosterops olivaceus Endemic.

Mauritius Olive White-eye ◊ Zosterops chloronothos Endemic.

Reunion Grey White-eye ◊ Zosterops borbonicus Endemic.

Mauritius Grey White-eye ◊ Zosterops mauritianus Endemic.

Seychelles White-eye ◊ Zosterops modestus Endemic. One, after a long search, in Mahe.

Common Myna (introduced) Acridotheres tristis

Seychelles Magpie-Robin ◊ Copsychus sechellarum Endemic. Good views of five (the entire population!) on Cousin Island.

Reunion Stonechat ◊ Saxicola tectes Endemic and easy to see.

Seychelles Sunbird ◊ Cinnyris dussumieri Endemic and widespread.

House Sparrow (introduced) Passer domesticus

Village Weaver (introduced) (Black-headed W) Ploceus cucullatus

Red Fody ◊ (Madagascar F) Foudia madagascariensis

Mauritius Fody ◊ Foudia rubra Endemic. Small numbers of this declining species in Mauritius.

Seychelles Fody ◊ Foudia sechellarum Endemic. Good views of around 10 on Cousin Island.

Rodrigues Fody ◊ Foudia flavicans Endemic. A total of seven, with some great views, Rodrigues.

Scaly-breasted Munia (introduced) Lonchura punctulate Noted in Mauritius.

Common Waxbill (introduced) Estrilda astrild Noted in Mauritius.

Yellow-fronted Canary (introduced) (Yellow-eyed C) Crithagra mozambica  Seen in Mauritius.

MAMMALS

Tailless Tenrec (introduced) Tenrec ecaudatus Three in Vallee de Mai on Praslin.

Asian House Shrew (introduced) (Indian House Shrew) Suncus murinus Two in Mauritius.

Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae One in Mauritius and one in Réunion.

Greater Mascarene Flying Fox Pteropus niger Noted daily in Mauritius.

Rodrigues Flying Fox Pteropus rodricensis We visited a large roost in Rodrigues.

Seychelles Flying Fox Pteropus seychellensis Common in the Seychelles.

Long-tailed Macaque (introduced) (Crab-eating M) Macaca fascicularis A few were sighted on Mauritius.

AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES

Seychelles Tree Frog Tachynemis seychellensis

Seychelles Skink Trachylepis seychellensis

Seychelles Bronze Gecko Ailuronyx trachygaster

Wright’s Skink Trachylepis wrightii

Seychelles Day Gecko Phelsuma astriata

Oriental Garden Lizard Calotes versicolor

Aldabra Giant Tortoise (introduced) Aldabrachelys gigantea