5 Rupees Eretmochelys imbricata

The hawksbill turtle has been critically endangered since 1996 under IUCN classification, with global nesting populations estimated to have declined by over 80% in the preceding century. Seychelles sits within a key hawksbill nesting zone in the western Indian Ocean, and the islands have been a site of ongoing conservation monitoring through the Island Conservation Society. Issuing this coin in 2023 places it among a growing number of Seychellois wildlife-themed circulation pieces that double as de facto conservation advocacy — a policy the government has pursued deliberately since the 1990s.