For decades, the small island of Aride in the Seychelles was treated less as a wildlife sanctuary and more as a source of income. Its forests were cleared for cultivation, coconut plantations covered parts of the island and its seabirds became a resource that could be harvested. Sooty tern eggs, in particular, were collected in huge numbers and shipped to other islands. Then, in 1973, British conservationist Christopher Cadbury stepped in.
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