Baby giant tortoises are thriving in an island nation in the Indian Ocean after the first successful hatching of the species using artificial incubation, reports The Guardian: “One week after the intervention, the 13 babies are building up their strength on a diet of banana slices and leafy greens in Seychelles, which is home to one of the last remaining populations of the tortoise.”
These turtles are Aldabra giant tortoises, some of the largest and longest-lived reptiles in the world. They can reach a size of 550 pounds and live over a century. “The hatchlings are the survivors from 18 eggs taken from a single nest on Cousin Island by local conservationists after scientists used a groundbreaking technique to analyze whether the failed tortoise eggs were fertilized and capable of developing.”
“This is a huge leap” that “shows what conservation can do,” said Alessia Lavigne, who authored a recent study on the project. The tortoises needed help because of high death rates among tortoise embryos. A study found that
75% of undeveloped eggs had been fertilised but contained embryos that died at an early stage. Those findings cast new light on why the Aldabra giant tortoise, which is classified as vulnerable, appears to have very low hatching success in wild nests. The failure rate is considered more likely to be due to environmental factors than to any genetic trait of the tortoises.
Giant tortoises were wiped out from most other Indian Ocean islands in the 19th century as a result of hunting by sailors, but the population on the Aldabra group of islands in the Seychelles was saved thanks to their isolation. They, 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…
As a hedge against extinction, some individuals were moved to other islands, including Cousin, in the hope that they could establish backup populations.
Most species of sea turtles are rebounding across the world.
“Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, one of the world’s most endangered species, have laid a record 383 nests on the Texas coast so far in 2025, surpassing the previous high of 353 set in 2017,” reported The Doomslayer.
“From Spain in the west to Cyprus in the east, the Mediterranean has witnessed a record rise in sea turtle nesting,” according to a news report last fall. In Greece, which hosts 60% of loggerhead sea turtles nests, “the rebound has been phenomenal: from an average of 5,000 to 7,000 nests per year, since 2023 over 10,000 nests have been recorded annually.” Sea turtles also made a comeback in Florida. A record-breaking number of sea turtle nests were found on Anna Maria island in Florida’s Manatee County.
Fish species rebounded off the coast of California due to their young finding a sanctuary in abandoned oil rigs.
Last year, scientists discovered that the world’s coral reefs are more plentiful than previously thought.
