As I said I went there mainly for the Phelsumas, a few German friends went before me. From one of them I got a lot of information. I stayed this week in a small bungalow complex “Jardin Maore”, located at the Southside of the island. It consists of 16 bungalows directly located at a nice beach. The unique fact of this place is that the lagoon, where it’s located at, is known for their sea turtles, they don’t only come to lay their eggs but also to forage and mate. You can see them throughout the year and from what I noticed, it’s the only place where you can swim between the turtles and you don’t need a dive privately for that, I saw them in water that was only 1metre deep. It’s an amazing experience to see these large reptiles so close as they calmly graze the bottom, searching for sea grass and seaweeds to feed upon. I also saw a few matings from these turtles.
During my stay they laid eggs on the beach almost every night, you could see this by the tracks that came from the water. As I see it the turtles aren’t endangered to exist there, I’ve seen so many. Diving, snorkelling, fishing, surfing and sailing is all possible on Jardin Maore.
About the animals that live on the island I especially want to mention: the Maki’s and apes, totally not frightened, and were often seen in the garden of the hotel. The beautiful large fruit eating bats and the nice bird species.
And of course the Phelsumas, as mentioned earlier there are 5 species here, 3 of them only live (as for known) on Mayotte: Phelsuma v-nigra pasteuri, Phelsuma nigistriata and Phelsuma robertmertensi, 2 species are spread over a larger area, they are Phelsuma laticauda laticauda and Phelsuma dubia.
The last 2 species are found over the whole island, sometimes in large numbers. They are easy to find in the garden of the hotel, especially in the large palms, but also in the bushes.
These species are definitely not endangered because of the very large area that they can be found (among others: on Madagascar en the other Comoro Islands). The other 3 species are harder to find and you have to search relatively longer before you find them.
Phelsuma robertmertensi lives in dryer and open bush areas, in the past people thought that this Phelsuma only lived in the dry south and was only found on a few places there and was threatened by extinction.
Because of the observations of Ralph and Silvia Budzinski on this spot, it was proven that this nice Phelsuma species also lives on the Northern part of the island and there are a lot more placing of finding them known.
P. robertmertensi inhabits the lighter bush areas, here they can be found in trunks of deciduous trees and bushes. Because of their camouflage colour they are difficult to find.
You can walk around in these areas for a long time before you see any. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t there, but don’t expect to find large populations, you’ll never find more then one on a tree or bush. Especially as this is the only Phelsuma species that can be found in areas with mangroves. The P.robertmertensi specimens that I’ve seen were dull coloured. There wasn’t one that showed me the nice blue colour they have in peak colouration which you often see them show in captivity.
The other 2 species live in more moist bush areas and these areas aren’t so common on Mayotte. The best place to find them is on mountain slopes where the original vegetation still grows.
A lot of areas are fortunately protected, so it isn’t allowed to cut trees or burn them down. It’s marvellous to walk in these areas and with some luck to see Phelsuma beside the path.
On Mayotte there are various nature walks, in which some of them go through finding areas of Phelsumas. Don’t expect to see a lot of people during your walk, I walked from 10am until 4pm without seeing anything, although it was still a great experience.
Phelsuma nigistriata and Phelsuma v-nigra pasteuri also live on deciduous trees and bushes, they can sometimes be found in considerable numbers. The areas where they live are rather small. These species are endangered by extinction.
Watching Phelsumas on Mayotte is making a lot of walks in the mountain bushes, and if you are lucky - like me - you’ll see all 5 species in one day.
All these specie can be found in captive collections and are often bred, so it is absolutely unnecessary to take them from their natural environment. It is illegal.
I had an unbelievable time on Mayotte, I’m always prepared to give more information.