Tortoise rewilding

Mauritius once had two species of giant tortoise, key players in shaping its ecosystems.

As seed dispersers, grazers, and nutrient recyclers, they maintained healthy forests and grasslands. Their extinction left a void — many large-seeded native plants now struggle to regenerate, while invasive vegetation quickly takes over.

To restore these lost ecological roles, Ebony Forest has introduced Aldabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) — close relatives of the extinct Mauritian species — as ecological replacements. These tortoises once again graze, disperse seeds, and enrich the soil, helping revive the natural processes essential for climate resilience and ecosystem restoration at Ebony Forest and Vallée De L’Est.

Project aim

To restore missing seed dispersal and grazing functions at Ebony Forest and Vallée De L’Est by introducing Aldabra giant tortoises as ecological replacements for the extinct giant tortoise species.

Project impacts

Restoring grazing and seed dispersal functions will:
• Reinstate lost ecological interactions, enabling native plants—especially large-seeded species—to regenerate naturally and reduce the risk of plant extinctions
• Reduce the need for maintenance weeding and lower the cost of forest restoration by keeping invasive vegetation in check.
• Enhance nutrient cycling, enriching soils and improving plant growth.
• Reduce the build-up of leaf litter, thereby lowering fire risk and promoting ecosystem resilience.

Additional benefits are:
• Building local conservation capacity, through hands-on management and monitoring of tortoise rewilding.
• Raising public awareness about the importance of restoring species interactions for healthy, climate-resilient ecosystems.
• Contributing to climate change adaptation, by creating more self-sustaining, biodiverse landscapes.

Working in partnership with the National Parks and Conservation Service, since 2021, Ebony Forest has been harvesting eggs and chicks to hand-rear. The adults are subsequently released at Ebony Forest.

Introduce giant tortoises

Acclimatize tortoises to the release site

Release tortoises

Monitor behaviour, impact and tortoise health

In February 2019, four juvenile Aldabra giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) were translocated from La Vanille Nature Park to Ebony Forest. After several years of acclimatisation and monitoring within a secure enclosure, these tortoises were released into the wild on 25 April 2023— marking the first release of its kind on mainland Mauritius.

Building on this success, ten more juvenile tortoises were translocated from La Vanille Nature Park to Ebony Forest in July 2023 and subsequently released.

A further ten juvenile tortoises arrived from La Vanille Nature Park in June 2024. Once they are large enough, these individuals will also be released to strengthen the free-roaming population. Already, the tortoises at Ebony Forest are creating grazing lawns, dispersing native seeds, and reducing competition, helping native plants regenerate naturally and restoring the ecosystem functions once provided by their extinct Mauritian relatives.

Most recently, in June and July 2025, twenty Aldabra giant tortoises were translocated from La Vanille Nature Reserve to a holding enclosure at Vallée de L’Est. Before their release, the tortoises will be fitted with GPS transmitters to track their movements and behaviour in the wild. This first-ever upland forest release represents a major step forward in restoring lost ecological interactions and rewilding Mauritius’ unique landscapes.