Gerald Durrell Endemic Wildlife Sanctuary
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| Gerald Durrell Endemic Wildlife Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) | |
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| Location: | Black River District, Mauritius |
| Nearest city: | Chamarel |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | NA |
| Established: | 1984 |
| Visitation: | Visitors not allowed except with rangers (in 2005) |
| Governing body: | Mauritian Wildlife Foundation |
The Gerald Durrell Endemic Wildlife Sanctuary is an animal sanctuary founded in 1984, in Western Mauritius. It is an area closed off to the public, in the Black River Gorge region, which is densely forested, and is used for breeding rare, endemic Mauritian species. Even though it is not open to the public, it is the facility most resembling a zoo on the island. Among the endangered species in the sanctuary is the Mauritius Kestrel, once the rarest bird in the world with only 4 members left. It has been successfully bred and the population has now reached the capacity of Mauritius.
The sanctuary is named after the famous naturalist Gerald Durrell, who has been associated with Mauritius' conservation movement from its very inception in the 1970s, and who adopted the logo of the extinct Mauritian bird Dodo for his Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust).
The sanctuary is run by the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, with the help of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
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