Indian Ocean Coral Reef

This exhibit is intended to represent the beautiful coastal landscape of the Comores Islands in the Indian Ocean, and in particular, of Mohelli Island and its immediately coral reef. These small islands, nestling like jewels in seas and skies of azure blue, create an ecosystem that integrates all categories of animals and has many animals and plants that are found nowhere else in the world. Along with Madagascar, the Comores Islands form one of Conservation International’s “Hotspots”.

The theme of this exhibit is ‘Living Together and Interdependence’, reflecting the strong link between the forested slopes of Moheli on the coast the reef below it. They will also see how much life is supported by a coral reef, which each creature or plant playing a vital plant in the delicate balance. The story focuses on deforestation, and how it causes the silting up and disappearance of coral reefs in the shallow coastal water.

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This exhibit is comprised of three elements: a large bat/mongoose lemur walk-through at the beginning, representing the mountain forests which are the main habitat for the endangered Livingstone’s fruit bats; a ranger station containing small animal exhibits (reptiles, invertebrates, fish and marine invertebrates) on the ‘beach’ ; and a magnificent underwater aquatic display with tanks of highly colourful and dynamic coral reef, packed with fish, invertebrate and plant life and another of large fish species that inhabit the waters surrounding the island.

The journey commences in the bat enclosure that visitors experience above ground within a large flight aviary. Here visitors have the opportunity to get “up close and personal” with the magnificent Livingstone’s fruit bat, mongoose lemurs and Comores chameleon as they follow the course of a mountain street downhill to the beach area. At the waters edge, rangers will be able to chat about aspects of the exhibit, and visitors will have the opportunity to see live or videoed reports from our project workers in Moheli as they work with local populations to create a sustainable future for animals, plants and people.

As visitors walk across the beach area they find themselves becoming submerged as the water laps around their tunnel which takes them into the watery world of a coral reef. Colourful, graceful, immersive and thoroughly awesome, the beauty of this habitat is hard to ignore.

It will be explained how deforestation is causing the nutrient rich soil to be washed down the slopes onto the coast and then on into the sea. This has a devastating effect on the coral as it smothers the existing coral and prevents new growth by preventing the natural sunlight required for a healthy coral reef.