Stanley the turtle and the Mauritius crew

The final two weeks of the Gaggle’s migration to Mauritius is fun-filled and busy. Due to a cyclone passing just off the coast of Mauritius, the Gaggle spend most of their time on land, as rough weather conditions prevent them from entering the water to complete their transects. Instead they venture inland to the mountains of Tamarin falls, where they trek down the side of a canyon and up into the mountains in search of Nirvana. They stumble upon it, when the fearless Jessie decides to climb a rock face whilst the others are resting.

A deep pool under a cascading waterfall provides refreshment for the hot and tired gaggle and a selection of the Dutch invaders. Whilst they are swimming, Jessie once again decides to go on an adventure and climbs the next rockface up, proceeding, after heavy caution from the alpha male, to jump into the water from the top of the cliff – a height of roughly 7.5m! As all goes well, several members of the gaggle and Dutch invaders decide to join in the fun before climbing the long and tiring trek back up the side of the canyon. T

After a hard day of conducting transects on Tuesday, the wind becomes too strong and gaggle flee North to La Vanille Reserve des Mascareignes to visit the crocodile farm and the large array of animals in the reserve. They see monkeys, insects, crocodiles, amphibians, reptiles and giant tortoises undergoing X rated activities, complete with awkward sound effects. After arriving home, the gaggle bid farewell to the two local Dutch invaders that they have been acquainted with. It’s a sad evening.

On Friday the gaggle are still unable to go out to their research sites due to the rough weather, so instead they take an eye-opening and educational trip to Ile aux Aigrettes. Ile aux aigrettes is an small island (27 ha) off the coast of south eastern Mauritius that has recently undergone a transformation. The Mauritian wildlife foundation has over the past 30 years worked to restore Ile aux aigrettes to its original condition before the arrival of human beings. This was a monumental task, considering the large number of species that have become extinct (roughly 70% of Mauritius’ pre-man flora and fauna are completely gone) and the huge abundance of invasive species (99% of the flora and fauna on mainland Mauritius is not native). The gaggle is shocked and saddened by the appalling statistics and the trip reinforces in their minds the reason why they are there.

On a brighter note, whilst exploring the island, the gaggle come across a baby giant tortoise, (Stanley) smaller than the palms of their hands and take immense joy in carrying it around the island to give to the wildlife workers to raise and care for.

After returning from Ile Aux Aigrettes, Gaggle member Dani comes home to a surprise birthday party to celebrate her 21st year of existence, with balloons and confetti and cake. As night falls, the gaggle continue the celebration with exploding fireworks on the roof to indulge their pyrotechnic nature, and drive to the famous C Beach club where they are treated to a private party by the pool.

The gaggle take Saturday off to recover, but Sunday brings a new adventure: a climb to the highest peak in Mauritius. The views are amazing, the walk strenuous and difficult, but after the challenging trek at Tamarin falls, the gaggle’s stamina has improved and they return home weary yet satisfied.
In the final week of the Gaggle’s stay in Mauritius the weather finally clears up and the pressure is on to finish all the research before their presentation on Friday to a local resort, Preskil.
The gaggle must inform the staff and owners of the research they have been conducting and the dangers threatening the coral reefs that bring so much Tourism to the island. The gaggle finish all the research efficiently and effectively after improving greatly on their fish counting methods. Only one small mishap occurs when a new skipper is hired, but he soon proves to be no challenge to the position of the alpha and beta males and the hierarchy is left as is.

On the last day before their presentation to Preskil the gaggle venture to the furthest reaches of the reef to search for turtles in the sea grass meadows. They turn out to be shy and elusive, but several gaggle members are lucky enough to spot a couple of the majestic creatures and record their size and behaviour. They then return home to work on their final presentation.

To be continued…
P.S.
The gaggle-gecko war is still raging, but it seems the gaggle now has the upper hand, picking the geckos off the walls one by one and releasing them into the wild.