Cousin Island is a small ()

granitic A granitoid is a broad term referring to a diverse group of coarse-grained igneous rocks that are widely distributed across the globe, covering a significant portion of the Earth's exposed surface and constituting a large part of the continental ...

island of the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, lying west of

Praslin Praslin () is the second largest island (38.5 km2) of the Inner Seychelles, lying northeast of Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 7,533 people and comprises two administrative districts: Baie Sainte Anne and Grand ...

. It is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

protected under Seychelles law as a Special Reserve. It is managed by Nature Seychelles, a national

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

and Partner of

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

, by which it has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

Description

A plateau covered with indigenous woodland extends over most of the island, which is almost encircled by a long sandy beach. The southern coast is rocky. A hill occupies the centre of the island's southern half. There is an area of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s and three small, freshwater swamps. A marine reserve, protecting coral reefs, extends into the sea from the shoreline.

History

The island was formerly a coconut plantation that had been stripped of much of its native vegetation. The

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Seychelles warbler had become almost extinct, with a population of only 26 birds. In 1968 BirdLife International, at the time known as the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP), bought the island and removed young coconut trees, thus allowing the native vegetation to regenerate and native fauna to recover. It was declared a special reserve in 1975.

Flora and fauna

The island's woodland is dominated by ''

Pisonia grandis ''Pisonia grandis'', the grand devil's-claws, is a species of flowering tree in the ''Bougainvillea'' family, Nyctaginaceae. Description The tree has broad, thin leaves, smooth bark and bears clusters of green sweet-smelling flowers that matur ...

'', ''

Morinda citrifolia ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to Southeast Asia and Australasia, which was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout the tropics and widel ...

'' and ''

Ochrosia oppositifolia ''Ochrosia oppositifolia'' grows as a small to medium-sized tree up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . Its flowers feature a creamy to white corolla. Its habitat is coastal forest, bush or open areas to altitude, rarely inland. Local me ...

'' trees. ''

Casuarina equisetifolia ''Casuarina equisetifolia'', commonly known as coastal she-oak, horsetail she-oak, ironwood, beach sheoak, beach casuarina, whistling tree or Australian pine is a species of flowering plant in the family Casuarinaceae and is native to Australia, ...

'' trees and

Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

palms fringe the coast. The rocky southern part of the island is characterised by ''

Pandanus balfourii ''Pandanus balfourii'', also known as , is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, one of four ''Pandanus'' species that are Endemism, endemic to the Seychelles. Description ''Pandanus balfourii'' is a small, slender, elegant tree of about ...

'', '' Ficus reflexa'', '' Ficus lutea'' and '' Euphorbia pyrifolia'' shrubs, with tall

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

and

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s. There are several species of endemic Seychelles lizards on the island, the skinks '' Mabuya wrightii'', ''

M. seychellensis M, or m, is the thirteenth letter of the English alphabet. M may also refer to: Companies and products * M (fragrance), a 2008 fragrance by Mariah Carey * M-series rangefinder, a series of Leica camera models * M (virtual assistant), a form ...

'' and '' Pamelascincus gardineri'' and the geckos '' Phelsuma astriata'' and ''

Ailuronyx sechellensis ''Ailuronyx'' is a small genus of geckos from Seychelles, commonly known as skin-sloughing geckos. They have a reputation for delicacy and especially for shedding strips of skin if handled. Classification of genus ''Ailuronyx'' *Seychelles bronz ...

'', as well as a freshwater turtle '' Pelusios subniger'' and 12

Aldabra giant tortoise The Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae and genus '' Aldabrachelys''. The species is endemic to the Seychelles, with the nominate subspecies, ''A. g. gigantea'' native to Alda ...

s. It is an important nesting site for

hawksbill turtles The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution that is largely ...

and, occasionally,

green turtles The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

. The island is free of rats.

Indian hare The Indian hare (''Lepus nigricollis''), also known as the black-naped hare, is a common species of hare native to the Indian subcontinent, and Java. Its habitat in Java is in rocky highlands. Description The Indian hare is of medium size compar ...

s have been introduced but are not considered harmful to the vegetation.

Birds

The island was the last refuge of the Seychelles warbler, with only 26–29 individual birds left in 1959. Following conservation efforts the population began to recover and birds were translocated to other islands. In 1999, the population on Cousin was with territories. The total warbler population has since grown to some . The island is one of only four that host the Seychelles fody, with an estimated 800–1,200 birds in 1997. A small breeding population of Seychelles magpie-robin was established in 1995, with three pairs translocated from Frégate; in 1997, the population had increased to 25 birds in four occupied territories. Other landbirds present include the endemic Seychelles sunbird and Seychelles blue pigeon as well as the Malagasy turtle dove. The island hosts over 300,000 nesting seabirds of seven species. A large colony, dominated by lesser noddies, but including about 1300 pairs of brown noddies, is present from May to September during the south-east monsoon. During the north-west monsoon, the hill supports a breeding colony of

wedge-tailed shearwater The wedge-tailed shearwater (''Ardenna pacifica'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It is one of the shearwater species that is sometimes referred to as a muttonbird, like the sooty shearwater of New Zealand and ...

s. Year-round breeders include

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and

bridled tern The bridled tern (''Onychoprion anaethetus'')Sometimes the name is (wrongly?) spelled as ''S. anaestheta'', for instance in: is a seabird of the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. Th ...

white-tailed tropicbird The white-tailed tropicbird (''Phaethon lepturus'') or yellow-billed tropicbird is a tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It is found in the tro ...

s and some 1000–1,500 pairs of

tropical shearwater The tropical shearwater (''Puffinus bailloni'') is a seabird in the family Procellariidae formerly considered conspecific with Audubon's shearwater (''Puffinus lherminieri''). Subspecies There are five listed subspecies of the tropical shearwa ...

s. Several hundred

great Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

and

lesser frigatebird The lesser frigatebird (''Fregata ariel'') is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. At around 75 cm (30 in) in length, it is the smallest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters across the Indian ...

s use the island for roosting and can be seen soaring over it. Some

wader 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s are present throughout the year, the commonest being the

ruddy turnstone The ruddy turnstone (''Arenaria interpres'') is a small Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan wader, wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus ''Arenaria''. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was form ...

Common moorhen The common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus''), also known as the waterhen, is a bird species in the Rail (bird), rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World, across Africa, Europe, and Asia. It lives around well-ve ...

s and

striated heron The striated heron (''Butorides striata'') also known as mangrove heron or little green heron, is a small heron, about 44 cm tall. It is mostly sedentary and noted for some interesting behavioural traits. The breeding habitat is in South Am ...

s also breed on the island.

Conservation

The island is known as a site for good practice in environmental management and has been the focus of many case studies.Official site
/ref> It is used by international research organisations and universities as a research base. It is a Demonstration Site for the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). Its ecotourism program has won several prizes including the

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...

ecotourism award and a Tourism for Tomorrow award. It is linked to other privately owned islands that contain endemic biodiversity through the Island Conservation Centre on Praslin island, funded by a

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

Global Environment Facility The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants (P ...

project. The Centre aims to increase awareness of conservation efforts on Cousin and elsewhere through displays, educational programs and work with grass roots groups.

Access

The island is accessible by sea from Praslin, or the neighbouring resort island of Cousine. It is open to visitors every morning, Monday to Friday, but is closed at weekends and on public holidays.

References

External links

Radio programme about the conservation efforts on Cousin Island
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousin, Seychelles Islands of Grand'Anse Praslin Important Bird Areas of Seychelles Nature conservation in Seychelles