Mammals

There are only two endemic mammals in the Seychelles, both occur on Silhouette.

Pteropus seychellensis or fruit bat, also named flying fox is an endemic specie occuring on all of the granite islands. It feeds on ripe fruit. It can be seen at sundown hovering  along the hillside. Unfortunately this nice peaceful animal is still hunted and eaten by the local people also on Silhouette, and is even served in some restaurants on Mahe. This is an endemic specie and really needs to be protected. Shall we wait until there are just a few left, and than spend millions of Euros for a protection and breeding program like the magpy robin? The best example is the Rodrigues Fruit Bat, Pteropus rodricensis, abundant houndred years ago, but due to human impact reduced to less than 100 in the early seventies, and thanks to a protection and breeding program brought back to about 1000. The same problem exists on the Comore Islands where P.livingstonii and P. seychellensis comorensis are critically endangered. On Mayotte the genus Pteropus is even completely extinct. Some people in Seychelles say there are still enough fruit bats, but there were more giant tortoises 250 years ago, than fruit bats now...

Coleura seychellensis or Seychelles sheath-tailed bat is a small insectivorous bat. It probably was abundant throughout the Seychelles in the past, but it has declined drastically and is now extinct on most islands. It roosts in caves and cracks. It is a critically endangered animal which needs all possible attention.