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After nearly ten years of intensive rehabilitation of North Island 25 Seychelles White-Eyes were released on North Island over a two-week period in July 2007. North Island's Noah's Ark Project has been involved in vegetation rehabilitation, pest-eradication and replanting of indigenous flora to become a "host island", that is, a place where species indigenous to the Seychelles, particularly those that are endangered, can be reintroduced and increase in numbers in a safe environment.
The Seychelles White-Eye is a small, nondescript bird, but no less important in that the global population is estimated at only 350-400 individuals and is entirely restricted to the granitic islands of the Seychelles. Due to habitat loss and the highly localised nature of the population this species is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red Data List. Central to the recovery strategy for the species has been expanding its range and as a result it had previously been reintroduced from Mahé and Conception Islands to Frégate. This year it was decided to allow new populations to be created on two additional islands, one of which was North Island.
The 25 newest inhabitants of North hail from Conception Island adjacent to Mahé and were moved by helicopter in five separate translocations by Helicopter Seychelles and Zil Air. On North Island each group of birds was held overnight in captivity for observation and for analysis of blood samples for parasites before being released the following day onto the island. The whole operation was very much a team effort. North Island's rehabilitation programme provided a sustainable habitat for the White-Eyes, while NGO Island Conservation Society and the Seychelles Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources enabled the capture, transfer and post-release monitoring of the birds.
With so few Seychelles White-Eyes left on Earth, North Island is now responsible for the wellbeing of around 8% of the world's population, a responsibility it has taken on with enthusiasm and passion. This is a historic moment for North Island, the Seychelles and the history of island conservation as a whole.
The Seychelles White-Eyes Project is a part of the larger North Island Rehabilitation Project, a Wilderness Safaris Wildlife Trust project: North Island Rehabilitation Projecthttp://www.wilderness-safaris.com/conse ... oject=2387
