| Brief description |
 Once
upon a time, a mega-continent started to crack, its pieces edging apart. One of these
land-masses, now known as India, broke off from mainland Africa, starting a slow but
steady voyage towards its present position. On this journey it left behind a plethora of
“debris” in the form of islands. These now form the only granitic archipelago in
the world: the Seychelles.
Due to their origin and to their isolation the Seychelles host a flora and fauna which are
truly unique. However, this archipelago is world renowned for its white, palm fringed
beaches and for its astonishing landscape. The thousands of tourists that travel to these
islands every year are drawn by these attractions. 
Our film wishes to reveal what there is “behind the scenes” that the visitors
often overlook. Dozens of endemic and spectacular species, unique to these islands, make
up an ecosystem which has no parallel. The Seychelles’ species hold reminiscences of
their African and Indian origins, and yet have evolved singular traits which are found
only on these islands.
A few dedicated individuals are constantly researching and preserving the nature of the
archipelago. Their field work, consisting of innovative techniques used to monitor giant
tortoises, whale sharks, rare birds or endangered amphibians, will also be depicted in
this film.
A documentary by Aldabra Productions |
| Synopsis |
Unlike many other tropical islands the Seychelles are
made of granite. They rise above sea level showing landscapes that are not to be found
anywhere else in the world. The opening of the documentary will show air and ground views
of a few astonishing landmarks. They are as close as one can get to imagining the Garden
of Eden.
Obviously this paradise of beaches and crystal clear waters attracts many tourists from
all over the world. But while people are enjoying themselves in these fabulous settings,
they often overlook the actual treasures that these islands offer right before their eyes.
A huge green sea turtle might be ignored by a tourist swimming right overhead. The rarest
parrot in the world could be overlooked during a casual stroll in a pristine forest.
 Adrian Skerrett
notices these things. He fell in love with the Seychelles 25 years ago and since then has
become the wildlife mentor of the islands. An Englishman, he was naturalised as a
Seychelles’ citizen in 1994. He is very much involved in several of the conservation
organisations working in the archipelago. He will guide us to the discovery of endemic
species and peculiar ecological niches. He will also introduce various people who are
working in different fields on different islands. People who are making the effort to
understand and conserve the unique wildlife of the area.
There will be a lot of island hopping in the film in order to follow several stories
occurring in different places in the archipelago.
Mahè is the biggest and highest of the islands. Beyond the coast with its luxury
resorts, lies the interior, harboring many hidden secrets.
Lindsay Chong-Seng, of Chinese origin, but “Seychellois” for generations,
is an expert on these small things of great importance. The Caecilians are worm-like
amphibians very unlikely to be found on islands. Their sensitive skin does not allow them
to swim in sea water, so they must have been “aboard” the Seychelles when they
departed from Africa. The same theory applies to the tiniest frog in the world, found only
in the rain forest of Mahè, whose closest relative has been recently discovered in India.
These facts combined with the presence of strange-looking leaf insects and pitcher plants
that have “cousins” in far away Sri Lanka, help us to understand the origins of
the archipelago.
But Adrian and Lindsay are also interested in bigger creatures. Not even the most
distracted tourist can fail to notice flocks of huge fruit bats flying over the hills of
Mahè at sunset. These fruit bats are the only native mammals of the archipelago; mammals
being very unsuccessful at crossing the sea to colonise islands. The bats, however, with
their wings do not find the sea such a barrier. Large numbers bats can be found on the
finest beaches of Mahè, roosting over the heads of tourists. While the bats perform their
litigious social rites, the humans below are busy performing their own rites, each species
oblivious of the other.
Gerard Rocamora is a conservationist and also a sound technician. He records the
raucous calls of the bats but also the sounds of much rarer species that he monitors
constantly. The Seychelles White-Eye is an endemic species. It was thought to be almost
extinct until Gerard found a small but healthy population of these attractive birds on
small Conception Island. Now Gerard, with the help of Adrian, is relocating some of
these birds to a yet smaller island, Anonyme, just on the other side of the main
Mahè Island. The rats on Anonyme were eradicated to make the island safe for the rare
birds. Hopefully, a second population of White-Eyes will be established and eventually be
used to re-colonise Mahè.
 Sometimes the job of
research and conservation can be hard. To reach distant Fregate Island, Adrian has
to embark on a three hour journey in a small boat. And the Indian Ocean can be very rough
at times. Finally entering the small protected harbour of the island, Adrian meets up with
Steve Hill. Steve has spent the last ten years on Fregate Island as a conservation
officer. The island is private and home to a five star resort. A big portion of the
revenue of the small (but very expensive!) hotel goes directly to the conservation and
rehabilitation of the island itself. Steve is constantly uprooting non-native trees,
introduced in the past ,and planting indigenous species in their place. These species of
plants, originally belonging to Fregate, are in turn attracting native birds which feed
solely on their fruits and seeds. For this reason, Steve can be proud to host the most
significant portion of the whole world population of Seychelles’ Magpie Robins on the
island. Steve has also re-introduced giant tortoises to Fregate. These huge reptiles,
which at 250 kilograms rival their cousins in the Galapagos, were once widespread on the
Indian Ocean islands. They were almost brought to extinction by hunting. Thanks to the
efforts of Steve there are now more than 200 individuals on the island.
Another big reptile which regularly comes to nest at Fregate is the Hawksbill Turtle. The
turtles come ashore along its beaches by the dozens during breeding season. After having
laid their eggs they struggle to return to their wandering life in the open ocean.
And it is to the sea that David Rowat has dedicated his whole life as a researcher
and tour operator.
 Adrian regularly joins
David on his quest for the biggest fish of the planet: the whale shark. The Seychelles
archipelago seems to attract these giants of the sea more than any other place in the
world. At times dozens of these huge fish can be found in the shallows performing their
breeding rituals. David is constantly monitoring this species either by boat or by an
ultra-light. He tags every single specimen he is able to find with a micro satellite
transmitter. He can therefore follow the voyages of these sharks all over the world; for
example, from Seychelles to Thailand in three days. David has also turned his passion for
whale sharks into a business. He takes interested tourists to watch the baleen-sized fish.
Again, a big portion of the revenue goes towards the conservation of these beasts now at
risk of extinction.
What is not at risk is the very peculiar forest that lies in a secluded valley on Praslin
Island. The Vallée de Mai was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983. It is formed mainly
by tall palms called “Coco de Mer”. These trees render this forest unique, for
this is the only place on the entire planet where they can be found. A tracking shot over
the canopy will show the singularity of the valley almost entirely covered by giant
fan-like leaves.
These palms have the biggest seeds of all the plants in the whole world. Unlike other
coconuts, they are too heavy to float and having evolved in isolation they could not
colonise any other place. A brightly coloured fruit fly living in the same forest has
attracted Adrian’s interest. This fly can solely feed on the decaying shell of the
“Coco de Mer” nut. So, this species couldn’t live anywhere else showing
once again the uniqueness of Seychelles.
 Aride island is a few
miles away from Praslin and its Vallée de Mai. Yet the habitat here is completely
different. The air resounds with the calls of thousand of seabirds which come to this
inhabited island to roost . Boobies, Tropic birds, Fairy terns and many others breed in
this pristine place. But Aride is also home to the highest density of skinks in the world.
The soil is teeming with these agile reptiles scuttering among the nests of the seabirds.
Adrian is the leader of the organisation which is in charge of the conservation of this
unique ecosystem together with the many different ones of this archipelago and that we
will explore thoroughly.
The Seychelles are a micro continent in the middle of the ocean: a rare fact indeed. They
could be considered the Atlantis of the natural world as we will show. |
