Cousin Island (Seychelles)

Cousin Island Special Reserve is one of the granitic Seychelles Inner Islands, located 2Km from the south west coast of Praslin, in the remote Indian Ocean. Cousin was one of the world's first whole island and sea reserves.

When Cousin was settled in the early 1900s, the 27 hectares of natural vegetation was cleared to make way for a commercial coconut plantation. In 1968 the island was purchased by Birdlife International and became ...
...site for 300,000 seabirds, and Cousin is the most important nesting site for Hawksbill turtles in the Western Indian Ocean. The reefs around the island are protected by a 400m exclusion zone, and studies have shown they contain 60% more of the commonly (over)fished species than any other marine reserve in Seychelles.

Today Cousin is managed by Nature Seychelles, a non-profit organisation which commendably aims to involve the local ... more

Cousin Island Special Reserve is one of the granitic Seychelles Inner Islands, located 2Km from the south west coast of Praslin, in the remote Indian Ocean. Cousin was one of the world's first whole island and sea reserves.

When Cousin was settled in the early 1900s, the 27 hectares of natural vegetation was cleared to make way for a commercial coconut plantation. In 1968 the island was purchased by Birdlife International and became the world's first internationally owned reserve to protect the last tiny population of the near extinct Seychelles Warbler.

Decades of careful restoration of native vegetation and habitat management has been undertaken to return the devastated island to its natural state, to give these remarkably rare birds and others like them a fighting chance for survival in a world scarred by the destructive endeavours of mankind and introduced pests.

In 1974 the unique island was protected further when the Seychelles government designated it as a Special Reserve. It is crucially significant, not only for being home to five of the eleven endemic species of land birds, but also as a breeding site for 300,000 seabirds, and Cousin is the most important nesting site for Hawksbill turtles in the Western Indian Ocean. The reefs around the island are protected by a 400m exclusion zone, and studies have shown they contain 60% more of the commonly (over)fished species than any other marine reserve in Seychelles.

Today Cousin is managed by Nature Seychelles, a non-profit organisation which commendably aims to involve the local community as much as possible in the conservation of their native species. The protected area management, research monitoring, eco-tourism and environmental education carried out on Cousin has made it the recipient of numerous international awards, and the island attracts over 10,000 visitors per year.

VISITING COUSIN

As Cousin is strictly a reserve it can only be accessed by boat and only for day trips. There are no facilities or overnight accommodations on the island. Many day tours are run from neighbouring Praslin, and the largest island Mahe which is a two hour boat trip away.

I visited on a day trip run by my B&B on Praslin, which involved a visit to several of the neighbouring smaller islands and a BBQ lunch, for just over £50. This may sound expensive, but life in the Seychelles is not cheap, and for me the opportunity of assured sightings of some of the rarest birds in the world was too exciting to miss. When I arrived on the tour it unfortunately turned out to be a speciality German affair, so I quickly dusted off the mental phrase book and tried to avoid any Basil Fawlty moments.

We arrived at Cousin under perfect blue skies and a warm golden sun. The verdant dense vegetation was fringed by deserted white beaches, and surrounded by azure seas, and it appeared to be the perfect tropical island. To prevent any rats or pests getting on to the island and decimating the fragile bird population, all visitors must transfer from their own vessels onto the little reserve boat at sea. Then follows an exhilarating charge through the surf and onto the pristine powdery silver beach, which some the Germans seemed to find a little horrifying - I wouldn't recommend it for people with poor sea legs. They managed to recover their reserve though and staggered up the beach to a small reception hut where we were greeted by some interesting environmental education displays and a map of the island made with dried specimens and shells to examine. We were met by a small group of wardens who offered tours in Kreol, French and English.

Luckily for me the majority amiably plumped for the English tour, which was conducted by a volunteer from Scotland who had been trapped on the tiny island for three months, which I imagine must be something like being a character on Lost (only without the polar bears). However, it does mean the English tours are lucidly conducted by a native speaker. Her informative and detailed account covered the history of the island, local uses of the native vegetation and facts on the wildlife, as well as spotting the many species of birds. The abundance of birds was simply amazing, they filled the trees at every turn, and were so oblivious of us we were able to get remarkably close to examine them without disturbing them. None of the Germans seemed to be ornithological fans, and I think they were initially a bit stunned at me bursting through their small herd with camera in one hand and binoculars in the other, but in the end they learned to make room for the crazy English girl who likes birds a lot, and we were all happy.

The tour lasted about 90 minutes and covered an easy couple of Kms foot trail around the island. Despite its small size, Cousin boasts a huge diversity and abundance of species and habitats, from the beach fringed by casuarinas, vouloutye and bwa matlo trees coated by seabirds, to a small freshwater wetlands attracting dragonflies and terrapins, to a dense forest in the plateau dominated by mapou, Indian mulberry and bwa sousouri (Ochrosia oppositifolia), where once stood the monoculture of coconuts, and where now the majority of the land birds are found. Our guide informed of the medicinal uses of many of these plants, such as the illegal practice of boiling the Ochrosia bark in water to make a tea to induce abortion.

I was fortunate as my trip was in May, which is the best time of year to visit. We managed to see all of the land birds apart from the Seychelles blue pigeon, and a bountiful number of seabirds including white-tailed tropicbird, brown and lesser noddies, and the astoundingly beautiful fairy tern.

Birds are really the main purpose of visiting Cousin, but there are plenty of other creatures to admire in their natural habitats. Ardent herpetologists will relish the fact than Cousin has the highest density of lizards per hectare in the world and will enjoy the four species of beautiful bronze and green endemic skinks and geckos which are frequently seen throughout the tour, and which feed on dead chicks and eggs. It is also home to the longest millipede in the world, known locally as milpat, and several species of land and sea crab.

Cousin sees the largest nesting population of Hawksbill turtles in the Western Indian Ocean between September and March each year. A steadily declining species elsewhere due to poaching and harvesting, 50-120 turtles can be seen nesting on the beach in broad daylight in Cousin, making it one of the best places in the world to see Hawksbill turtles on land.

Roaming around the island are 36 giant tortoises, which approach the tour parties to have there necks scratched. Their tameness is a throw back to the old days of the plantation when they used to break into the worker's vegetable garden to steal the produce.

NOTABLE BIRDS

Seychelles Magpie-Robin (Copsychus sechellarum) - a large black and white thrush like bird, which hops along the ground guarding its territory and inquisitively cocking its head. The magpie-robin was eliminated from the other islands through direct persecution and introduced predators, leaving the only population on Fregate. A successful breeding population was established on Cousin in 1994, but it still remains one of the rarest birds in the world, with a total of around 125 in existence.

Seychelles Fody (Foudia sechellarum)- there is a healthy population of this small olive bird with a sunshine wash across its face, which breeds only on Cousin and two other Seychelles islands.

Seychelles Warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) - in the 1960s Cousin was the final refuge of the last 26 individuals of this species, which was fast heading for extinction. Work on Cousin has been fundamental in saving these bold little olive-brown birds, which now number more than 2000and have been removed from Red Data critically endangered list. Interestingly as part of its natural survival strategy the gender of its offspring is determined by food availability. When food is plentiful 80% of chicks are male, who seek territories of their own to breed, when food is scarce, 90% of chicks are female who remain with their parents to assist in raising their broods.

Fairy Tern (Gygis alba) - one of the most elegant species of bird I have ever seen, with a slender white plumage, black beak and cobalt blue legs. They use Cousin as a major breeding site, and I saw many of their nestless eggs perching in nooks on branches, where the fluffy chicks hatch and sit until they are fully fledged.

White-tailed tropic birds (Phaethon leptures) - astoundingly graceful in flight with a long arrow thin tails, these nest all year round on Cousin and I was lucky to see a day old chick in the hollow of a tree trunk.

CONCLUSION

The aim of Cousin is to conserve and protect the unique Seychelles heritage and for the respectful enjoyment of all mankind.

As an ardent twitcher this was one of the highlights of my time in Seychelles, but it is not necessary to be a 'big lister' to enjoy visiting Cousin. The birds are beautiful to any eye, the peace and quiet, broken only by birdsong and the lapping of the waves, makes it a relaxing haven, and it is a rare chance to experience a highly unique uninhabited Indian Ocean island in its natural state. The tours are exceptionally good, with the highly knowledgeable wardens tailoring the information and pace of the walk to suit the group, and the abundance of close up wildlife to spot would make it fascinating for children also. Unfortunately, the method of landing and the natural state of the path would make the island difficult for those in a wheelchair to visit, but I wouldn't say impossible. Obviously, this would be a nightmare for the bird phobic, and probably also is not suitable for anyone particularly squeamish as the skinks are so plentiful they run across your toes, and many unpleasant missiles descend from the birds perched in the trees above.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Cousin Island is open Tuesdays - Fridays, 09:30-12:00 and 14:00-16:00. The maximum limit is 20 visitors at a time.

Visitors pay an entry fee of US$25 / E25, entry to residents is free.

No natural materials or products are allowed onto the island, presumably to reduce the risk of the introduction of any invasive vegetation etc.

The tour operator made a big fuss about everyone applying lashings of mosquito repellent, and even though there were a few buzzing around the forest, I didn't find it too bad. A hat and t-shirt for the exposed beach part of the tour, and some water to combat the humidity in the forest, are good ideas. Footwear isn't a problem with flip-flops being adequate. Also a waterproof camera case would be a useful item in case of any mishaps on the boat to boat transfer, as would a supply of tissues as there are a lot of active birds in the trees above visitors heads.

A field guide I would recommend is Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands (2003) Sinclair, I & Langrand, O., 2nd edition, Struik, Cape Town. The information is thorough, the illustrations are reasonably good and it is the perfect size for travel.

For further information see:
www.natureseychelles.org
www.sey.net

© 2005 V.L.Collyer 

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