Anjajavy le Lodge

Conservation in Madagascar is a priority for the WWF, yet dozens of species on the island remain under threat. Sadly, the problem has a long history. For example, two once plentiful species of giant tortoise that once roamed the island are now long gone - a loss that still seriously affects the island’s ecosystems in areas such as seed dispersal and tree reproduction.

However, a further native species still survives on the nearby the Aldabra Atoll. In 2018, Madagascan tortoise expert Dr Miguel Pedrono and the island’s Government hatched an ambitious plan to reintroduce it. Working with Anjajavy le Lodge, they selected the hotel’s recently expanded Protected Area as the ideal site. 12 tortoises have been fitted with transponders and moved to Anjajavy. The project is Madagascar’s first such program and has attracted the attention of conservation experts globally. It also offers the first opportunity to study the ecology of living Madagascan megafauna, rather than fossil remains - raising the exciting prospect of discovering previously unknown ecological functions.