Samoa island sees sea turtles return after invasive animals are removed, restoring wildlife

Sea turtles are nesting on Nu'utele Island in Samoa again after being absent for decades. Their return follows a major conservation effort to remove non-native predators from the uninhabited Pacific island. According to a statement released by global charity Island Conservation on October 20, 2026, conservation teams successfully removed invasive rats and feral pigs from the island. The joint restoration project began in 2025 and involved more than 130 days of fieldwork across 12 separate expeditions, which ended in May 2026. Nu'utele Island is an uninhabited Key Biodiversity Area within a marine protected area off the eastern coast of Upolu. It contains Samoa's best-preserved tropical forest. However, animals brought to the island from elsewhere had damaged local food chains, destroyed native plants and hunted vulnerable wildlife. One year after the removal campaign ended, field surveys show widespread signs of recovery across the island's forests and coastal areas.Native vegetation carpet returning to forestsRemoving invasive mammals has allowed native plants to grow again without being eaten by wild pigs or having their seeds consumed by rats. Forest floors that were once bare a...