Ile aux Aigrettes
| Ile aux Aigrettes | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | Indian Ocean | |
| Archipelago | Mascarens | |
| Geographical location | 20 ° 25 '30 " S , 57 ° 43' 55" E | |
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| surface | 26 ha | |
The Île aux Aigrettes (Island of the Great Egrets) is a 26 hectare island southeast of the island of Mauritius . It is located within the reef, about 1 km from the coast off Mahebourg.
The island is a nature reserve of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation , to preserve the native flora of the island of Mauritius and the Mascarene Islands . It serves to protect and breed certain animal species that are endemic to Mauritius and some of them are almost extinct. In this context, the Mauritius pigeon ( Streptopelia mayeri ) should be mentioned, but the Aldabra giant tortoise and the Telfair skink ( Leiolopisma telfairii ) are also important. Originally the Ile aux Aigrettes also housed a breeding of the Mauritius falcon ( Falco punctatus ); but this was shifted to the mainland.
