In 1987, a British naturalist became the first professional warden of a remote Seychelles island

In 1987, a British naturalist became the first professional warden of a remote Seychelles island In 1987, British naturalist Ian Bullock arrived on remote Aride Island in the Seychelles to become its first professional warden. Just one year later, the groundwork he established helped make possible an important conservation project: 29 endangered Seychelles warblers were moved to the island, creating a second population and helping save the species from extinction.Details of Bullock's pioneering work were recorded in his obituary in The Guardian. The scientific details of the warbler transfer were published by Cambridge University Press in Bird Conservation International, while BirdLife International maintains historical records of the species.Before the 1988 transfer, the entire global population of the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) lived on just one island, Cousin Island. The population had once fallen to only 26 birds.Conservationists saw the danger of having the entire species in one place. A disease outbreak, natural disaster or other environmental problem could have wiped out the whole population. Aride Island had been cleared of introduced predators, making i...