Going, going... gone! Saving the planet from extinction
The animals, plants and other living things that make up our environment are called our
biodiversity. In Mauritius it is a very sad fact that we have the third most threatened biodiversity
in the world, which means that a lot of the animals and plants that are found here are at risk of
becoming extinct. When a living thing becomes extinct it means that it can no longer be found
anywhere in the world.
The Aldabra Giant Tortoise was brought to
Mauritius from the Seychelles to stop it from
becoming extinct.
The living things in a place will be either:
Endemic – found only in that place and nowhere
else in the world, this was the case with the
famous Dodo of Mauritius.
Native – found in several places, such as Whitetailed Tropicbirds, which are found in many
countries in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian
oceans.
Introduced – not naturally found in a place but
introduced by accident or on purpose by man, an
example is the giant tortoise seen often in
Mauritius, which is really from the Seychelles.
Mauritius and Rodrigues are very special islands
with a large number of endemic plants and some
endemic reptiles, which are rare and could possibly become extinct. Many species of plants and
animals have already become extinct since man came to the island. There have been different
stories about how the Dodo became extinct but now we know that it was for a several reasons.
For a long time it was thought that Dodos died out because they were killed and eaten by the
Dutch, who came to live on the island. But the
bird did not taste good, according to the diaries of
people who lived here or visited Mauritius, so it is
unlikely that this is the reason it became extinct. It
has also been said that the Dodo was stupid! This
may be because it could not fly anymore as there
was no need to since there was nothing on the
island (until man came) that could harm it. The
real threat to the Dodo was the arrival of other
An old drawing of the Dodo from the book The
animals: the introduced cats, rats, dogs, monkeys
Dodo and its Kindred, written in 1848 by H. E.
and pigs, which ate their eggs. The birds probably
Strickland.
only laid one egg at a time, so if their eggs were
being eaten by these other animals it would not take long for them to disappear forever. The
other main threat to Dodos was that their habitat (the place where they lived and found their
food) was being destroyed, as the forests were being chopped down. After the arrival of the
Dutch, it probably took less than 100 years for the Dodo to die out.
Sadly, the two main problems that caused the Dodo to become extinct still exist today for many
endemic plant, reptile and bird species on Mauritius: the loss of their home (the native forest)
and the threat from introduced wildlife. Introduced animals may eat endemic animals or their
eggs or babies, and introduced plants grow fast and wild and may take over from endemic plants.
The national flower of Mauritius
(boucle d’oreille or earring plant) is
only found on the steep slopes of Le
Morne mountain.
There are some conservation organisations in Mauritius,
including the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
(www.mauritian-wildlife.org), that exist in order to
preserve our rare animals and plants. First of all they must
recreate the habitat that the animals used to live in – the
forests. This means selecting an area and then weeding out
(getting rid of) plants which do not belong in Mauritius, and
then growing many endemic and native plants from seeds.
At the same time they have to protect the rare birds and
reptiles, to stop them from being eaten by introduced
animals. Some birds, such as the Pink Pigeon and Mauritius
Kestrel, were so rare that less than 10 were left in the
whole world! Once their habitat is restored the animals can
be reintroduced, but this may take very many years.
The biodiversity that surrounds us is important for our
own survival; animals, plants, birds, fish, insects and man
all depend on each other, forming what is known as the
web of life. We should all take notice of our own
environment and help to preserve it for everyone to
enjoy.
The rare Pink Pigeon in a specially
protected area of Black River Gorges.
In 2009, it was found that of all the species
that we know about worldwide
12 % of birds
21% of mammals
70% of plants
are under threat of extinction.
38% of reptiles