CASE STUDY
Kestrel Valley is a private nature reserve of 200 hectares, nestled in a pocket of the remaining forest in the South East of Mauritius.
The Mauritius Kestrel (falco punctatus), originally from the adjoining deep valleys of the Bambous Mountain Range, was saved from almost certain extinction by hand-rearing the last breeding pair in existence and releasing their chicks into the safety of Jean Boulle Group’s Kestrel Valley. Starting in 1994, 331 birds were released into the wild in Mauritius.
Monitoring and protection of the Mauritius Kestrel are ongoing at the Valley as is the Group’s strong liaison with and active contribution to the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. In 2013, the international conservationist Nathalie Boulle was honoured with the BirdLife President’s Medal for inter alia ‘being a strong supporter of the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, encouraging and supporting their application to become a BirdLife Partner, and sponsoring their delegate to the World Conference’.
The Mauritius Kestrel (falco punctatus), originally from the adjoining deep valleys of the Bambous Mountain Range, was saved from almost certain extinction by hand-rearing the last breeding pair in existence and releasing their chicks into the safety of Jean Boulle Group’s Kestrel Valley. Starting in 1994, 331 birds were released into the wild in Mauritius.
Monitoring and protection of the Mauritius Kestrel are ongoing at the Valley as is the Group’s strong liaison with and active contribution to the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. In 2013, the international conservationist Nathalie Boulle was honoured with the BirdLife President’s Medal for inter alia ‘being a strong supporter of the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation, encouraging and supporting their application to become a BirdLife Partner, and sponsoring their delegate to the World Conference’.
In 2022 the Mauritian Kestrel was officially designated by the Government of the Republic of Mauritius as the country’s Official National Bird.