Flightless Aldabra Rails Reintroduced to Picard Island, Population Nears 3,000

Photo: HT World

The Aldabra rail, the last flightless bird in the Indian Ocean, was wiped out on Picard Island by feral cats introduced by settlers. In 1999, 18 birds were reintroduced after cats were removed. By 2012, the population had grown to nearly 3,000. The rail had disappeared from Grande Terre before the late 1800s and from Picard shortly after 1910, surviving only on three islands of the Aldabra Atoll.

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