?The discovery of the herald petrel on Mauritian coasts is simply exceptional!? The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) has been enthusiastic about this discovery since March last year when members of the non-government organisation (NGO) saw the bird on Round Island. The bird was tagged on Raine Island in 1984 by scientists off Cape York in far north Queensland in Australia and was spotted more than 20 years later about 10,000 kilometres away ? in Mauritius.

?This herald petrel has beaten a lot of records including the one of longevity and the distance covered between Australia and Mauritius. A 22 year-old bird was found 9,186 kilometres away from the place where it was tagged.

?When members of the MWF saw this bird last year, they did not know what it was exactly. It is only after some research that we managed to discover that it was the herald petrel,? says Vikash Tatayah, Conservation Manager at the MWF. After his research, he immediately warned the Australian authorities but it is only very recently that the latter published the discovery there.

This discovery surprised scientists a lot for several reasons. This herald petrel has beaten a lot of records including the one of longevity and the distance covered between Australia and Mauritius. A 22-year old bird was found 9,186 kilometres away from the place where it was tagged ? the record for such species was six years old and such dispersal for these species had never been recorded before. ?Although sea birds are known to have a long lifespan and travel long distances, it was the first time it was formally published for a herald petrel,? says Vikash Tatayah. And the rarity of such birds in Australia itself made the discovery even more valuable for Mauritian scientists.

Only 22 herald petrels were tagged in Australia at that time on Raine Island among which only 11 have been caught again within the past 26 years. ?When I asked Australian authorities why they had not tagged more of these, they told me that these birds were so scarce that they could not tag more of them,? comments Vikash Tatayah.

But the MWF has other reasons for rejoicing. ?The herald petrel is reproducing on Round Island, which makes the list of petrels longer on this island,? says Vikash Tatayah enthusiastically. Round Island is indeed known as the breeding island for sea birds and this discovery enhances this image. ?Round Island is very important, as it shelters a number of sea birds. It may be the place where there is the biggest population of red tropic birds for instance ? the only place where there might be more of them is in Europa Island near Madagacar. Another example is the petrel of Bulwer; there are reportedly up to five of them on this island but, as it is the sole place where you can see it in the Indian Ocean, that makes it more important,? the MWF member explains.

Today, there are more than 2,400 tagged sea birds on the island. ?None of them is known to be reproducing anywhere else except on Round Island which makes them unique to this island so far,? says Vikash Tatayah.

The herald petrel was found alone, as the MWF discovered no partner. ?It has since then reared a fledgling, which flew away. We suspect that the herald petrel has actually reproduced with petrels of the island and tests were sent in the UK to confirm. It would be even more interesting if it had hybridised on the island. It would question all theories on taxonomy ? the science of classification,? says Vikash Tatayah. This discovery will certainly help scientists a lot in their research?

Pauline ETIENNE

Profile of the herald petrel

The herald petrel is one of the 80 or 90 petrels in the world, which is a big family of seabirds. These birds are known for their long dispersals ? thousands of kilometres ? and usually remain above the sea for years. They actually come back on land only for reproduction purposes. This explains how the famous herald petrel was found in Mauritius after so many years. The herald petrel is endangered in Queensland and critically endangered on the whole Australian territory. The Herald petrel is a medium to large tropical gadfly petrel.