“Please Respect the Tortoises. They are probably older than you,” reads a sign at Moyenne Island located off the coast of Seychelles. The privately-owned island, dubbed the “tortoise paradise”, was designated an independent national park by the government of Seychelles in 2008.
Less than one square kilometer in size, Brendon Grimshaw, a British editor, purchased the island in 1964 for $20,000 when it was a “desolate, impenetrable place filled only with brush,” says an account.
![Missing Brendon Grimshaw! - Moyenne Island, Mahe Island Traveller ...](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/06/dc/55/7e/moyenne-island.jpg)
PHOTO: TRIPADVISOR
Grimshaw and a Seychellois man, the late René Lafortune, developed the wild island into an amazing preserve. Today, Moyenne is home to 16,000 plants and trees, mango, pawpaw, mahogany and palm.
![Inside Moyenne, the world’s smallest national park in Seychelles you should visit after coronavirus](https://face2faceafrica.com/nsuri/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/MOYENNE.jpg)
PHOTO: TRIPADVISOR
The island also hosts birds from neighboring islands, not forgetting the giant land tortoises, which today number 120.
![25 Places To Visit In Seychelles For A Thrilling Trip Experience](https://img.traveltriangle.com/blog/wp-content/tr:w-700,h-400/uploads/2016/07/Giant-Tortoise-on-Moyenne-Island.jpg)
PHOTO: TRAVEL TRIANGLE
Grimshaw is no more but the island, which is now the smallest national park in the world, is so much alive that visitors continue to explore it as far as they know that tortoises have the right of way.
![Tripadvisor | St Anne Marine Park & Moyenne Island full day Glass ...](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/attractions-splice-spp-720x480/0a/99/e1/33.jpg)
PHOTO: TRIPADVISOR
“Huge granite boulders and white sandy beaches add to the splendor of the island, happily situated in the heart of the St Anne Marine National Park, which is sheltered by coral reefs teeming with 150 species of fish,” writes Cerf Island Resort.
![Seychelles Moyenne Island, View of Mahe Island | Moyane Isla… | Flickr](https://live.staticflickr.com/215/494673557_4ac82d03b9_b.jpg)
PHOTO: FLICKR
Here’s a video of Moyenne Island, which now has more species per square foot than any other national park in existence:
Video credit: Razvan Mikiduta