Mauritian Wildlife Foundation

The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit conservation agency working in Mauritius and the Outer Islands to save threatened endemic local flora and fauna.

2020: in the aftermath of the MV Wakashio oil spill reaching Ile aux Aigrettes which occurred during the Corona Virus Pandemic lockdown, an important rescue was coordinated, engineered and financed by the Jean Boulle Group (owned by Mauritian Jean-Raymond Boulle) working closely with Mauritian Wildlife Foundation, (MWF) Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, BirdLife International, National Parks and Conservation Service of Mauritius (NPCS), and the Forestry Service.

The Jean Boulle Group provided its corporate executive jet to enable the emergency rescue of three species of rare reptiles (Gongylomorphus bojerii, Cryptoblepharus boutonii) and the lesser night gecko) which might otherwise be facing extinction, following the Wakashio oil spill in Mauritius.

The reptiles were safely transported to Jersey Zoo by the Jean Boulle Group[1] plane where they have received expert care from leading herpetologists and this safety net population forms part of a breeding programme from which the animals, their offspring or future generations can eventually be released back into the wild.

Moving the reptiles to Jersey is a lifeline in establishing assurance populations of these animals and their unique genes away from the disaster zone until the long-term impacts of the MV Wakashio oil spill are fully understood.