Pointes et plages de Saziley et Charifou (Points and beaches of Salizey and Charifou) is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

, a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

island territory in the Comoro archipelago of the western

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. It was established in 1997.

Description

The protected area includes Point Saziley, the south-easternmost headland of the island, and adjacent areas. Point Saziley is 4 km long with a sharp ridge rising to 233 m and is vegetated with dry

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

and

thicket A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large numbers of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in th ...

containing

baobabs ''Adansonia'' is a genus of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). The eight species of ''Adansonia'' are native to Africa, Australia, and Madagascar but have also been introduced to other regions of the world, including Barb ...

(''Adansonia digitata''). The protected area also includes the beaches and mangroves of Dapani and Charifou west of Point Salizey. The adjacent sea is part of

Mayotte Marine Natural Park The Mayotte Marine Natural Park () is a marine park surrounding Mayotte, a French overseas region. Mayotte is part of the Comoro Islands archipelago, which lies within the Mozambique Channel in the western Indian Ocean. Established in 2010, the pa ...

Wildlife

The area supports populations of

Comoros olive pigeon The Comoro olive pigeon (''Columba pollenii''), also known as the Comoros Rameron pigeon or simply the Comoro pigeon, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Comoros and Mayotte. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss. Des ...

(''Columba pollenii''),

Comoros blue pigeon The Comoro blue pigeon (''Alectroenas sganzini'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Comoros and the coralline Seychelles. It is rated as a species of near threatened on the International Union for ...

(''Alectroenas sganzini''), Mayotte white-eye (''Zosterops mayottensis''), Mayotte sunbird (''Cinnyris coquerellii'') and red-headed fody (''Foudia eminentissima''). It is also home to

Robert Mertens's day gecko The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

s (''Phelsuma robertmertensi''), island day geckos (''Phelsuma nigristriata'') and Pasteur's day geckos (''Phelsuma v-nigra pasteuri''). Its beaches are a nesting site for

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

, and probably

hawksbill 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 ...

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

s. Together with

Mont Choungui Mont Choungui () is a distinctively conical volcanic mountain in the southern part of the French island of Mayotte, in the Comoro archipelago of the western Indian Ocean. It is the second highest point of the island at , the highest being Mont ...

to the west, it forms the 1600 ha Mlima Choungui and Sazilé or Crêtes du Sud

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 ...

(IBA), as identified as such by

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 ...

References

Protected areas of Mayotte Important Bird Areas of Mayotte 1997 establishments in Mayotte {{Mayotte-stub