Durrell conservationists help avoid ‘second dodo moment’
Two crates of rare reptiles have arrived at Jersey Zoo from Mauritius as part of an emergency rescue mission following the recent Wakashio oil spill.
Photo courtesy of Durrell
The Japanese MV Wakashio freighter ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July and leaked approximately 1,000 tonnes of oil into Mauritian waters.
In the immediate aftermath, conservationists captured night geckos, Bojer’s skinks and Bouton’s skinks from the southeast islands of Mauritius.
Earlier this week, the three species of reptiles arrived at Jersey Zoo. The ‘safety net' populations will form a breeding programme with the hope that future generations can be released back into the wild.
Only a few hundred individual reptiles of each species survive on the southeast islands of Mauritius, and without intervention, Durrell says the impact of the spill could have caused irreversible damage and pushed the reptiles closer to extinction.
