Cousin Island in Seychelles

Cousin Island is a granitic island covering 27 hectares and lies approximately 2km from Praslin island. It became the world’s first internationally owned-reserve when it was purchased in 1968 by the International Council for the Protection of Birds (ICBP), now Birdlife International. The objective was to save the last remaining population of the Seychelles warblers.
First made into a Nature Reserve in 1968 it was afforded further protection when it was designated a Special Reserve in 1974. It is not only significant for sea birds and endemic land birds but is also the most important breeding site for Hawksbill turtles in the Western Indian Ocean . The reserve is managed solely by local staff and benefits local communities on the neighboring Praslin island through eco-tourism.

Looking around Cousin today, it is hard to believe that this vibrant and diverse island ecosystem was once a coconut plantation.  When the island was first settled in the early 1900's, the original vegetation on the plateau was cleared to make way for profitable coconut trees as well as a small garden. Cousin has been successfully restored to its original vegetation, creating homes for many endemic species of land birds and important beeding sites for seabirds.

Today, Cousin is managed by Nature Seychelles.  Conservation activities include monitoring of the island's biodiversity, research, re-introduction of endangered species such as the Seychelles Magpie Robin, ecotourism and education.

Cousin has received international awards for its conservation and ecotourism efforts  by Conde Nast Traveler and  Bristish Airways.

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Socotra Island:The Most Bizzare Place on Earth

Socotra is a small Yemeni archipelago of four islands and islets in the Indian Ocean off the coast of the Horn of Africa, about 350 kilometers south of the Arabian peninsula.

Socotra is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth of continental origin.

The archipelago features narrow coastal plains, a limestone plateau with caves, and mountains which rise to 1,525 meters above sea level.

Like the Galapagos Islands, this island is teeming with 700 extremely rare species of flora and fauna, a full 1/3 of which are endemic, i.e. found nowhere else on Earth.

Socotra is home to more than 800 species of plants, some 240 of which are endemic to the island, and there are certainly many more plant species that have yet to be discovered. The climate is harsh, hot and dry, and yet – the most amazing plant life thrives there.

A Dragon’s Blood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari) is seen in front of the Skund mountains on the island of Socotra, Yemen. The tree is so named because any injury to the bark results in a deep red liquid excreting from the scar – compared in the past to the “Blood of Dragons”.

The branches spread out into the sky and from below appear to hover over the landscape like so many flying saucers… and from above they have a distinct mushroom look.

There is also the Desert Rose (adenium obesium) which looks like nothing so much as a blooming elephant leg.

A Socotran Fig Tree (Dorstenia gigas) with a bizare swollen trunk that almost has human proportions grows against a limestone rock face on the island of Socotra. The plants are one of over 300 plant species endemic to the island.

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