Digging La Digue

Our image looks across a stretch of sand on La Digue, one of the islands of the Republic of Seychelles. The fantastically scenic islands that make up the Seychelles lay in a far corner of the Indian Ocean. The closest mainland is the African coast, more than 900 miles to the west, and the island nation of Madagascar lies nearly as far to the south. A species of reptile, the Aldabra giant tortoise, sometimes appears on the beaches of La Digue. The Aldabra Atoll is where the primary population of these tortoises lives, but they’re also found on La Digue. They were hunted nearly to extinction by 1840, and although they’re still listed as 'vulnerable,' the gentle giants have bounded back some since then.