Aldabra’s red-footed booby population soars past 45,000 pairs to become largest in the Indian Ocean |14 November 2025

Aldabra’s red-footed booby population soars past 45,000 pairs to become largest in the Indian Ocean

A newly published paper confirms that Aldabra Atoll’s red-footed booby population is the largest in the Indian Ocean and among the largest colonies of this species in the world.

In 2022 and 2023, the Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) staff carried out the first major population survey of red-footed boobies Sula sula at Aldabra in more than two decades: the results were remarkable. Using a combination of boat-based counts and drone surveys, the team estimated that at least 45,817 breeding pairs currently nest at Aldabra, confirming it as the largest known colony in the Indian Ocean region.

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