Baby giant tortoises thrive in Seychelles after first successful artificial incubation | Conservation

The slow-motion pitter-patter of tiny giant turtle feet has been alarmingly rare in recent years, but that looks set to change thanks to the species’ first successful hatch through artificial incubation.

A week after the intervention, 13 babies are building their strength on a diet of banana slices and green leafy vegetables in the Seychelles, home to one of the last remaining populations of the turtle.

As new members of the giant Aldabra tortoise, one of the world’s largest and longest-lived reptile species, they will eventually reach a weight of around 250 kg (39.5 kg) and live for more than 100 years.

The hatchlings are the survivors of 18 eggs taken from a single nest on Cousin Island by local conservationists after scientists used a groundbreaking technique to analyze whether failed turtle eggs were fertilized and developed.

The successful trial could help stem the extinction crisis for other threatened species, the researchers said.

“This is a huge leap,” said Alessia Lavigne, who lives in the Seychelles and is the lead author of a book at the University of Sheffield in England. last work about the project. “This shows what conservation can do.”

The study examined the reproductive rates of five tortoise and tortoise species and found that 75% of immature eggs contained embryos that were fertilized but died at an early stage.

These findings shed new light on why the hatching success of the giant Aldabra tortoise, classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in wild nests appears to be very low. It is thought that the failure rate is more likely to be due to environmental factors rather than any genetic characteristics of the turtles.

Giant tortoises disappeared from most other islands in the Indian Ocean as a result of hunting by sailors in the 19th century, but the population on the Aldabra island group in the Seychelles was saved by their isolation. These, along with 400 other endemic species and the extraordinary colors of the landscape, were the reason why the atoll was listed as a world heritage site by Unesco in 1982.

As a precaution against extinction, some individuals were moved to other islands, including Cousin, in the hope that they could establish reserve populations in case of new threats. This has proven prescient because, as the Guardian revealed last year, at least one island is being developed as a luxury tourist resort funded by Qatari money.

The rarity of cub sightings on many islands indicates that reproductive rates may be low, Lavigne said. Incubation of fertilized eggs, which is being trialled in collaboration with Nature Seychelles and some other local conservation organisations, could help boost numbers in the event of a crisis. However, the priority of the research will be how to improve the conditions of wild nests.

“It’s great that these eggs have been shown to be alive, but artificially incubating the eggs is not a long-term solution,” said Nicola Hemmings, from the University of Sheffield’s School of Biological Sciences. “We now need to identify variables that affect survival in the natural nesting environment and then see if there are ways to improve them.”

The team said it wanted to share its results with scientists in the Galápagos Islands, home to the only other species of giant tortoise.