Giant tortoises now outnumber people in the Seychelles
A study by the Seychelles Islands Foundation and the University of Exeter puts the giant tortoise population of Aldabra Atoll at almost 183,000. In the 19th century fewer than 1,000 were left.
Animals
Animals · Ghana
World first as one of the planet's rarest frogs breeds at London Zoo
London Zoo has bred 15 Afia Birago froglets, a species that survives in just two pools in Ghana's Atewa forest. They will form a back-up population while their home is protected.
Endangered bogong moths are filling Australia's skies again
The species lost an estimated 99.5% of its population from 2017 and was listed as endangered by the IUCN in 2021. This spring its migration is back in homes and streets across eastern Australia – and scientists see a sign of hope.
The numbers
15 Afia Birago froglets born at London Zoo: the first of their species ever bred in human care. Read the story → 183,000 Estimated adult and subadult giant tortoises on Aldabra – against about 123,000 people in the whole of the Seychelles. Read the story → 4 billion Bogong moths that fly to the caves of the Australian Alps in a good year. Numbers crashed after 2017. Read the story →
