Giant Tortoises on Raised Coral

Giant Tortoises on Raised Coral is an original illustration set in Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles. It lies in equatorial latitudes, where the climate is tropical savanna — a pronounced dry season.

Several giant tortoises move slowly across pale raised-coral limestone among low island scrub. The nearest has a high domed shell, thick elephantine legs and a long extended neck. The rock underfoot is porous and sharp-edged, and the vegetation is short and salt-tolerant.

Why do giant tortoises survive only on remote islands?

Giant tortoises survived only on remote islands that mainland predators and, for a long time, people never reached. Their size is a consequence of that isolation, not a cause. The ground is the second clue: pale porous limestone with knife-edged surfaces is an old coral reef lifted clear of the sea and then dissolved by rain, which is what an uplifted atoll looks like.

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