Flora and Fauna

Since the island's colonization in the 17th century, its thick forest cover has been destroyed by felling and intensive grazing. The secondary growth with which this has been replaced consists mostly of introduced plant species. Of the 38 or so remaining species of plants native to Rodrigues, all but two are considered endangered, vulnerable, or rare. Species of which continued existence depend on one or two specimens in the wild include cafe marron, bois pipe, and mandrinette and bois pasner.The Mauritian government is acting to protect vegetation plots of critical importance, such as Grande Montagne, Pigeon. Cascades, Moumuk, St Louis and Anse Quitor. These plots are fenced off from animal depredation and carefully weeded to remove the much faster growing introduced species. Rare species are propagated in government nurseries on Rodrigues and then planted in these plots where they have a better chance of survival and regeneration.

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It is hoped that these areas will act as refuges for the island's rare endemic fauna, such as the Rodrigues warbler, Rodrigues fody and Rodrigues fruit bat. The warbler population has made a shaky recovery from virtual extinction in the 1960s to an estimated 50 birds in the early 1990s. The Rodrigues fody population has also increased from very low numbers in the 1960s to approximately 400 birds in 1991. The Rodrigues fruit bat spends the day in communal roosts, usually in old mango trees, and becomes active at night when it searches for fruits, flowers and leaves. A common haunt for the bats is the valley about 4km south of Port Mathurin, towards Mont Lubin. Colonies of seabirds, including fairy tern and noddy, nest on Ile Cocos and Ile aux Sables off the north-west coast.

About Rodrigues Island

The island is entirely surrounded by reefs, which offer some of the best beach underwater experiences available in the Indian Ocean. A vast lagoon (200sqkm) shelters some of the best beach and reef

Flora Endangered flora

There are 42 plants endemic to Rodrigues and, of these, seven are down to two or three specimens each. These include the Rodrigues hibiscus, saved from extinction after specimens were located in

Attractions Beaches

Pointe Coton, on the east coast, has the best beach on the island. There are other nice beaches at St François, Trou d'Argent and Petit Gravier. Rodrigues is a volcanic island rising from a ridge

mauritius-islander.com (General Info site)

Mauritius is situated in the south-west of the Indian Ocean about 800 km east of Madagascar. Together with Réunion and Rodrigues it belongs to the Mascarene Islands. It has an area of 1.865 km ² and

Endangered Species

The best known representative of Mauritius birdlife was the dodo - a large, plump, flightless dove which found its docility rewarded with extinction in the late 17th century. Although the dodo has

Echo Parakeets

The Echo Parakeet is the world's rarest parakeet. Since 1985, MWAF has been running a project to help wild parakeet's boost their numbers through captive breeding. In the early 1990s there were only

Birdlife

Mauritius has several endemic species of birds - birds which are found nowhere else in the world. Many ornithologists or keen birders wishing to add unique species to their lists will find the long