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David Bullock and Steve North, British conservationists:
“Round Island is a very special place”
David Bullock and Steve North, two British conservationists, have a very special relationship with Round Island. In 1975, both of them set foot for the first time on this Closed Nature Reserve as students and it isn’t an overstatement to say that this unique island has forged the path of their respective careers. They have had the chance to visit the island 3 more times since, the last time being some 20 years ago. 5 decades after their first visit and here they are going back to Round Island to see the major conservation works that have been operated. They will mark their passage in Mauritius with a conference about this Island on Friday 27 October at the Mauritius Commercial Bank building in St Jean.
Round Island has a very special fauna and flora
This conference will be the perfect occasion for the two ecologists to share their perspective of all the changes that have happened for the last 50 years on Round Island. “I think that the audience will learn how special Round Island is, how very nearly everything was lost by deterioration of the habitat. They should also know all the work that has been done to save this unique wildlife and what a success story that is. It’s a good send off to celebrate what has been achieved”, says Steve North, from the outset.
Had David and Steve not met a particular group of lecturers who were just returning from Mauritius, they would probably never have put their foot on Round Island. It was back in 1975, both friends were part of a group in their University that was very keen to go on a wildlife expedition. “We were looking at various places and we were lucky to meet these lecturers. They told us that there were lots of conservation issues in Mauritius and suggested we explore the idea of coming over. We eventually came to know about Round Island and that’s how we had the privilege of visiting it”, says Steve.
David Bullock and Steve North on Round Island in 1975
During their first visit, David Bullock and Steve North were caught between lots of different emotions. “We were thrilled to discover a new site with these rare endemic flora and fauna species but at the same time we had a sad feeling to find out the devastating state of the island. On top of that, we also had a nervous feeling seeing the helicopter fly away from the island. We were being left there with food and water for six weeks, there were lizards around our feet and there was the odd noise coming from the shearwaters nests all around us”, recalls Steve North.
This first visit was special in many ways. The two lifelong friends might be the two only living individuals to have last seen the now extinct Round Island burrowing boa (Bolyeria multocarinata) alive. An epic sighting which brought goosebumps to the two friends. “Back then, this snake species was already very rare. We were on Round Island for 6 weeks and we only saw that one individual on the day before we left. We had a dilemma, we were told by the Conservator of Forest of that time, not to touch the snake if we found it. I can tell you that it was very difficult for us not to touch it because we wanted to measure it and take photographs. We knew before we went that it had only been seen very few times in the last 50 years. We thought it already extinct, so to find one was a big surprise. It could live like 50 years, it could have been a very lonely snake for a very long time”, shares Steve.
David Bullock is looking forward to share his experience of Round Island with the public
During their last visits, the two ecologists have been very impressed with the progress they have seen and were looking forward to go on Round Island again. “We have seen the reports and it’s looking very positive. We have already got a glimpse of the hard work that have been done on the northern islets on our recent visit to Gunner’s Coin. Compared to our last visits on the latter in 1996, we see a better cover of native weeds, we have been amazed to see Keel-scaled boas (Casarea dussumieri), Telfair’s skinks (Leiolopisma telfairii) and even the very rare Orange-tail skink (Gongylomorphus fontenayi) there as well as Lesser night geckos (Nactus coindemirensis). That’s a great success”, says David. Steve North adds that “it’s a real thrill to see that something that looked terrible is now looking very good for the future. The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, Durrell , the Forestry Services and the National Parks Conservation Service have done an excellent job in restoring this island”, adds Steve.
Steve North often shares stories of Round Island with his family
It must be said that David’s and Steve’s friendship has evolved throughout the years with Round Island at the center of it. “We meet twice a year and I must say that when we do meet we nearly always talk about Round Island”, says Steve. He also shares that this topic runs in the family. “When I came in the 1990s, my children were still very young. I talked to them about animals living on Round Island, I made up stories for them, and so they grew up with stories of Round Island. That is another source of pride that, my daughter in particular, has an interest in conservation and is doing the same career. I think that Round Island played its part in making her enthusiastic about it.”
They like to say that they complement each other. Steve states that David is more of an academic than he was. The latter went for a more academic career working with NGOs in England while Steve, more interested in applied management of conservation, went into a government organisation in Scotland. If both are retired already, they haven’t however put conservation aside as both are still well involved. David chairs a Wildlife trust and is on the board of another one while Steve does a lot voluntary work. “As long as we have the passion and as long as we are effective, we will go on”, says David. “Nature conservation has been our lifetime interest, so it’s hard to give it up”, adds Steve.
David Bullock and Steve North were lucky enough to see a Burrowing boa alive before it eventually became extinct
The conference is scheduled for 27 October at the Mauritius Commercial Bank building in St Jean as from 17:30. David Bullock and Steve North will give their perspective on conservation of the island since the 1970’s. They will describe how the island has changed over that time and the increasingly sophisticated management techniques and skills which have been developed. They will also include personal reflections of their past visits to the island. They will be joined on stage by Vikash Tatayah - Conservation Director of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation - who will do a presentation about the impact of animal harvesting, hunting and poaching on Round Island which spanned over nearly two centuries, and Nik Cole – Mauritian Wildlife Foundation & Durrell Island Restoration Manager – who will focus on priority areas of conservation work and research underway or planned.
Those who are interested are required to book their seat by contacting Lensley on mwffriends@mauritian-wildlife.org or 54728997.
