Located off the eastern coast of Africa, north of Madagascar, the Seychelles comprise roughly 155 islands, only a few inhabited by humans. Like many island nations, they contain a variety of unique endemic wildlife, such as the Seychelles fruit bat, a keystone megabat species, and the Aldabra giant tortoise, which had been nearly hunted to extinction by the 1840s. Today, Seychelles has become one of the world's leading countries in protecting threatened biodiversity, with 42% of its territory set aside for conservation. Nevertheless, the ecosystem is vulnerable to climate instability, and several bleaching events in recent years have destroyed most of the coral reefs around the islands.