On this page 5 sections
A laboratory of evolution
The Comoros have never been connected to a continent. All the land species that live there arrived by sea or by air, carried by winds, currents or rafts of vegetation. Isolated, some evolved into endemic species, sometimes found on a single island: birds, reptiles, butterflies, plants.
Emblematic mammals
- Livingstone's fruit bat: a giant fruit-eating bat, endemic to Anjouan and Mohéli, classed as critically endangered.
- Other fruit bats: a smaller and more widespread species flies over all four islands at dusk.
- Mongoose lemur: found on Anjouan and Mohéli, as well as in Madagascar.
- Mayotte lemur (maki): a brown lemur, symbol of the island, probably introduced several centuries ago.
Birds
Each island has its own species or subspecies of birds: drongos, sunbirds, white-eyes, scops owls… The Karthala scops owl lives only in the high-altitude forests of the volcano, and the Anjouan scops owl, long thought to be extinct, was rediscovered at the end of the 20th century. These discreet birds depend entirely on the survival of the forests.
Forests, mangroves and fragrant plants
The high-altitude rainforests, rich in tree ferns, mosses and orchids, now survive only on the summits. By the sea, mangroves shelter young fish. People have introduced plants that have become emblematic: ylang-ylang, the vanilla vine, the clove tree, the coconut palm, the mango tree, the baobab.
Threats and protection
Population growth, deforestation and soil erosion threaten the forests and water sources, especially on Anjouan. Several national parks have been created in the Union of the Comoros (Karthala, Mount Ntingui, Mohéli, Shisiwani, Coelacanth) and Mayotte has a national nature reserve for its forests. The island of Mohéli has been a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2020.
