Mauritius South
Mauritius
The Black River Gorges National Park, Mauritius' sole National Park, is a spectacularly wild expanse of thick forest covering 3.5% of the island’s surface and is home to over 300 species of flowering plants and nine species of bird unique to Mauritius, including the famous pink pigeon which is staging a very gradual comeback from the brink of extinction.
Many endemic plants and animals still occur in the park including the Mauritian flying fox and all of the island’s endemic birds: Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, Mauritius parakeet, Mauritius cuckoo-shrike, Mauritius bulbul, Mauritius olive white-eye, Mauritius grey white-eye and Mauritius fody. Some of the most remarkable plants within the National Parks are the following Nesocodon mauritianus, Calophyllum parviflorum and Lomatophyllum purpureum.
The Vallée d’Osterlog Endemic Garden is a jewel of biodiversity with an exceptional flora and fauna species being present in the valley such as Sideroxylon grandiflorum (Tambalacoque), Diospyros Boutoniana (Ebene Marbré à grosse feuilles), Eugenia bojeri (Bois Clou), Pandanus iceryi (vacoas), Olax psittacorum (Bois Perroquet). Rare fauna species such as Hypsipetes olivaceus (Mauritius Black Bulbul), Zosteropus mauritianus (Mauritius Grey White Eye), Pteropus niger (Mauritius Fruit Bat), Taphozous mauritianus (Grey tomb bat), Phelsuma ornate (Ornate day Gecko), Phelsuma cepediana (Blue-tailed day Gecko) have been inventoried at the Garden.
