Giant tortoise population rises from 1,000 to 183,000

“The population of giant tortoises on Seychelles’ Aldabra Atoll is now estimated at 183,000, the highest figure on record for the atoll, according to a recently published survey. The population fell below 1,000 in the 19th century because of overhunting but had recovered to an estimated 100,000 by the late 1990s,” notes The Doomslayer.

The Guardian reports:

“A survey of the world’s largest free-roaming giant tortoise population has discovered that the once endangered species is thriving.

A population of Aldabra giant tortoises lives on an island in Seychelles called Aldabra Atoll.

The most recent survey, led by Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) and the University of Exeter, revealed there were approximately 180,000 tortoises living on the island. This is the highest figure ever recorded for the species and far exceeds the human population of Seychelles.

The new figure was obtained by a team who analysed five years of tortoise counts between 2018 and 2022. It is the first update since a widely cited figure of 100,000 tortoises from the late 1990s.”

Baby giant tortoises thrived on an island nation in the Indian Ocean after the first successful hatching of the species using artificial incubation, reported 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.”

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.