The eyes of the island: Christopher Mahoune and the watchful wardens of Cousin.

There are jobs and there are jobs. Every morning Christopher Mahoune picks up his camera and binoculars the way most of us grab our laptop bags, then heads to an ‘office’ like no other, in surroundings that most of us would find extraordinary. But he doesn’t take a single moment for granted. “I came here in 2011, when I was 20 years old, and fell in love with the job, with the island, with the simplicity of it here,” he says. “I've been here ever since – this is the place that feels like home.”

If you hadn’t already guessed, Christopher works for Nature Seychelles as Chief Warden of Cousin Island Special Reserve, a place so protected that only the charity’s own boats can even approach it. It’s a measure put in place to prevent invasive pests and maintain the native biodiversity of the island, after many years as a plantation. During that time, invasive and damaging species were introduced, and the island took many decades to recover. It’s something they cannot risk again and keeping it safe from threats is a top conservation priority.

So, were you to visit Christopher and his colleagues for one of their popular island tours, you would need to transfer from your boat to theirs – some distance from the Island – and be landed on shore. But it would be so worth it. “Our boat is driven at full speed onto the beach, and it can be both exhilarating and overwhelming,” he admits. “But once you’re on the island, you’ll immediately notice a lot of birds flying around. During the nesting season, you might see a turtle heading down to the sea – if you're very lucky, even some turtle hatchlings.”

In the afternoons, when tourist and educational tours are finished for the day, Christopher and his team are there to monitor and protect the flora and fauna of Cousin Island. It’s both a hands on and hands off job, where their Canon cameras (EOS R5 Mark II and Canon EOS R50) plus 18x50 IS All Weather Binoculars, very much come into play. “It’s a nature reserve, so everything needs to be done naturally,” explains Christopher. “There are only a few instances where we can intervene. For example, sometimes the male giant tortoises fight and flip each other over – it’s almost impossible for them to right themselves, so we step in. And as a marine protected area, we use our binoculars for surveillance, making sure no one is in our waters who shouldn’t be.”

The rest of the time, they maintain a respectful distance, with the absolute minimum of disturbance to the island’s wildlife. Unless it’s for conservation purposes, such as bird ringing or turtle monitoring. They also make sure that all are safe, healthy and living their best lives. “When we’re monitoring, having a powerful pair of binoculars makes it a lot easier. For example, the Seychelles magpie-robins – one of the rarest birds in the world – all have rings on their feet with a unique number and colour code. You can’t get too close to check those and we need to be accurate.”

As an endangered species, it’s vital to understand just how many are on the island and what health they are in. But there are also little tells which Christopher and his team look out for. “We might disturb the ground a little, so they come down to the ground to look for insects to feed on,” he explains. “If they pick them up without swallowing, we know they’re feeding a chick somewhere and we can follow them to reach it early and ring it before it leaves the nest.”

The team also monitor the magpie robin nest boxes that have been introduced on Cousin Island, checking to see if eggs are being incubated or even if the boxes have been claimed by an opportunistic gecko or two! Sometimes, during their rounds, Christopher and his team will witness rare and incredible events, with one in particular that he was thrilled to catch on camera. “I’ve been working on this island for over thirteen years, but it was only a few months back that I saw a newly hatched white-tailed tropicbird chick for the first time,” he remembers. “We often see chicks, but never like this and, of course, the mother is very protective. If I didn’t have the RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens, I would have needed to come closer, and the parent would have hidden her. Instead, I was able to get a really nice shot. That was a rare moment.”

This tiny miracle, and so many others, are shared widely by Nature Seychelles’ Communications Manager Liz Mwambui and such stories are critical to the way that Nature Seychelles operates. The images and videos they take every day not only tempt potential visitors to Seychelles but connect the charity to the wider scientific and conservation communities, support fundraising efforts and bring the latest exciting updates to the attention of the media.

“We need to capture simple things and rare moments that people on the outside won't usually see,” Christopher adds. This could be the astonishing 80,000 pairs of Lesser Noddys, which nest on the island from March to October. Or the island’s most famous inhabitant – a giant tortoise affectionately named ‘George’ by locals, who has lived there for over 160 years. Not to mention the infamous Seychelles Warbler – a huge conservation success story and the very reason Cousin Island became a special reserve in the first place. It’s no wonder Christoper and all his colleagues at Nature Seychelles hold the lives of all these precious creatures close to their hearts. But more than that, they know that the island comes first. “This is the home of the birds, and we are all just guests – even the wardens,” he says. “It's just a privilege for us to be a part of this.”

Follow the progress of our work with Coral Spawning International and Nature Seychelles here on VIEW.