ALDABRA PICARD ISLAND HIKE, PT 2

One of the great things about taking hikes on a never before visited island  is  the anticipation of what you are going to see.  It also requires careful attention and awareness – you never know when something is going to pop up.

The views along the shore of Aldabra island were of course stunning:

As we made our way into the interior , it got very interesting.  First,  ahead of us we spied an ibis:

Since I no longer had a working camera with a zoom lens, I had to very quietly and slowly try to get a bit closer to get a better shot – and eventually got some decent ones:

 

I also got a quick glimpse of one of the more flashy birds of the area, the sparrow like red fody:

More on this elusive bird in later posts.

The most numerous inhabitants on Aldabra, besides the giant tortoises, are crabs,  There are the ghost crabs:

  • Sand-colored crustaceans that can run up to 10 mph  
  • They have 360-degree vision
  • Breathe air using special moist gills

Hermit crabs:

 

  • Hermit crabs are actually not solitary but rather can be found in large groups.  In fact, we had to be particularly careful walking, as most of the Picard hermit crabs are quite tiny and were always underfoot in the paths we followed.  I tried to take  more  photos – but they were so tiny they just look like white dots.

My favorite were the very colorful – and very big coconut crabs – seen hiding in the top photo of this post.

  • The adults breathe air using special organs and as adults  will drown if submerged in water for too long 
  • They eat coconuts but  are also opportunistic omnivores that feed on fruits, seeds, and sometimes small animals.
  • Young crabs live in the ocean until they mature and develop a thick exoskeleton, at which point they move to land permanently.
  • They are long-lived with lifespans up to  over 50–60 years.

One other “land” animal living on Picard  is actually a flightless bird known as a rail.  Originally an endemic species, the Aldabra rail had to be reintroduced to the area in 1999 after being decimated by predators.  It is still considered endangered with less than 3000 birds, but the recovery efforts are exceeding original expirations so hopefully this rail species will continue to thrive:

 

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