Round Island was home to the last Mauritian giant tortoises, who were sadly driven to extinction in the mid-nineteenth century through over-harvesting. To fulfil the lost ecological roles of plant grazing and seed dispersal that the tortoises provided, Aldabra giant tortoises from the Seychelles have been introduced as an ecological replacement to the extinct tortoises, contributing to the conservation of the island ecosystem and other species.

The tortoises that live near the field station are accustomed to the presence of researchers and always happy to receive a neck scratch. I was fortunate to witness a tortoise dig her nest in front of the field station and while watching her progress throughout the night, I was struck by how the remarkable process I was observing would not have happened without innovative conservation measures and years of restoration work on the island.

From dawn to dusk the island is a stage to the extraordinary spectacle of hundreds of seabirds filling the sky with their graceful dances while at night their bizarre haunting songs fill the air. These island denizens link the terrestrial and marine environments, bringing much needed nutrients to the depleted soils.