The Celebrity 7 of D’Arros and St Joseph
The D’Arros and St Joseph reserve in the Seychelles is so pristine and remote that it seems like it could exist only in a dream – or a movie. Unless you’ve been there, you can’t imagine it; if you have a memory of it, it’s hard to describe. However, there are some characters that are impossible to forget. Here is our list of little-known but unforgettable island celebs.
A land crab at St Joseph.
1) Land crabs
The Minions of St Joseph Atoll
Imagine going to sleep on the beach and waking up in the middle of the night surrounded by thousands of eyes – and pincers. Like the Minions, land crabs move en masse. There are so many of them creeping up on you at the same time that it sounds like a slow wave washing across the beach. On being discovered, the crabs retreat in a pack but, like the Minions, tenacity is their strong point and after taking a few moments to recover they head right back. As far as we know, there are no evil leaders to follow at St Joseph, although one researcher on the atoll was so terrified of the crabs that she spent the evenings sitting in a wheelbarrow. The truth is there’s not much to be afraid of; the crabs eat mostly mangrove leaves.
Little blacktip coming in to say hello at St Joseph Atoll.
2) Baby blacktip reef sharks
The street urchins of St Joseph
Remember Oliver Twist and his gang of orphan pickpockets who had to fend for themselves on the streets of London? The baby blacktip sharks of St Joseph Atoll are a similar set of characters. Sharks are careful about picking a safe place to give birth, but once the pups have been dropped they are all on their own. At only 40 centimetres long, baby blacktips have to grow up very quickly but luckily, apart from being small, they are fully formed versions of their parents and are ready to hunt the second they are born.
Fairy tern in flight.
3) Fairy terns
The playful forest spirits
The dense coconut plantations that cover most of D’Arros and St Joseph make a pretty eerie backdrop if you’re cycling through them. This is especially unnerving when you get the feeling that you are being followed. Relax, listen and look up. Like their namesake, snow-white fairy terns are playful and curious, and to hear their high-pitched ‘zwitt’ as they swoop through the forest with you is magical. They can live for 46 years and have curious parenting habits, laying their eggs not in a nest but directly on thin branches or in the fork of a tree. Luckily their newly hatched chicks have special feet that they use to cling precariously to their crib.
A manta glides above the reef that fringes the edges of D’Arros island.
4) Manta rays
Pegasus of the sea
If the winged stallion Pegasus had soared underwater, the otherworldly manta rays would have been in his likeness. D’Arros has a community of manta rays that have made the islands their permanent home. These graceful creatures fly through the water like eagles in an aquatic ballet and sometimes, if you are very lucky and you go snorkelling at the right moment, they may choose to interact with you. Manta rays are thought to be the most intelligent fish in our oceans and, from the expression in their probing black eyes, it’s easy to imagine that they have as many questions for us as we have of them.
An unfortunate fairy tern succumbs to the grey heron’s killer instinct.
5) Grey herons
Ninja assassins
Life on D’Arros is generally harmonious, but as in any story there is always a villain. With their lightning-quick reflexes and ruthless demeanour, grey herons belong in a Tarentino film. They have perfected their ninja-like hunting technique and can often be observed standing motionless in shallow water, waiting for an unfortunate meal to come within striking distance. On D’Arros Island they are especially infamous for using their sword-like beaks to stab fairy terns, whose bodies they will then pulverise before swallowing them whole.
Petit-four leans in to the camera on D’Arros island.
6) Petit-four (P-2-4 to non-French speakers)
The sage of the Seychelles
Unless you have read Lord of the Rings, you won’t have heard of Tom Bombadil, the oldest being in Middle Earth (he didn’t make it into the films). Well over a century old and weighing more than 150 kilograms, Petit-Four is almost certainly the oldest being on D’Arros. Having spent his earlier years on Aldabra, this giant tortoise knows all about living it up in a pristine environment. He passes most of his time in sleeping, gorging on breadfruit or mating very vocally. Despite his advanced age, P-2-4 seems to have an insatiable sex drive and his progeny on D’Arros will continue his legacy for centuries to come.
A day gecko glows in the afternoon light.
7) The Seychelles small day gecko
Straight out of Avatar
What’s bright green with tangerine patterns and looks like it should glow in the dark? You could be forgiven for thinking you are hallucinating the first time you set eyes on a Seychelles day gecko – these lumo little reptiles are decidedly other-worldly. Although generally they live in trees, on D’Arros they appear to prefer the thatched roof of the dining area. Meals are often interrupted by a gentle plop, when a baby gecko falls out of the roof and onto the dinner table.