New book aims to be all-in-one source on region’s tortoises |13 September 2004

Despite this, a surprising amount of the information on these tortoises is inconsistent and finding accurate information is very difficult.

A new book entitled Giant Tortoises of the Indian Ocean by Dr Justin Gerlach brings together all the available information of these animals for the first time.

This book was written as the result of research to find out exactly what was known about Seychelles tortoises. Initially this research was carried out to develop the Seychelles Giant Tortoise Conservation Project, but has since expanded to cover all the historical and scientific information ever reported on the living and extinct giant tortoises of Seychelles, Madagascar and Mascarenes.

Chapters cover tortoise identification, anatomy, evolution and ecology as well as the history of exploitation, extinction and conservation.

The foreword to the book has been written by Sir David Attenborough, the patron of the Seychelles Giant Tortoise Conservation Project , who considers the giant tortoises to be “ancient and particularly precious creatures.”