Eleven Aldabra tortoise eggs hatched in a Cousin Island trial

Eleven Aldabra giant tortoise eggs hatched in a controlled trial on Cousin Island Special Reserve. Nature Seychelles announced the result on November 6, 2026. Science officer Chris Tagg had collected the nest, the first gathered this year, and 11 of its 16 eggs hatched over the weekend of October 31 to November 1. Two or three more were still expected. The team set this batch shallower in the sand than earlier trials. The group said the work is still a test, not a finished answer to why so many wild eggs fail.

Over recent years the organization watched more than 15 giant tortoise nests on the island, and only one hatched successfully in the wild. Working with Seychellois scientist Alessia Lavigne, the team found that some failed eggs had been fertilized and had started to develop, then stopped. Three nests are in the current study. Two failed, and one other egg showed very early development and then stopped. The new hatchlings are at the field center, weighed and measured each day, and fed fresh water and leaves such as hibiscus and morning glory. Volunteers help with feeding and cleaning under Tagg's direction. The plastron, the underside of the shell, is not sealed yet, so they cannot be released. Recent rain has brought the island's plants back, unlike an earlier hatching that had to wait through a drought. The news is these 11 hatchlings and the trial. It is not a release, and it is not a new count of tortoises on the island.