The largest island, also called Socotra, is about 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some 240 kilometres (150 mi) east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula. The island is very isolated and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth. The island measures 132 kilometres (82 mi) in length and 49.7 kilometres (30.9 mi) in width.

“Snowflake (c. 1964 – November 24, 2003) was an albino gorilla. He was the only known albino gorilla so far, and the most popular resident of the Barcelona Zoo in Catalonia, Spain. Originally named Nfumu Ngui in Fang language ("white gorilla") by his captor, he was then nicknamed Floquet de Neu (Catalan for little snowflake) by his keeper Jordi Sabater Pi. On his arrival to Barcelona where he was given an official reception by the then Mayor of Barcelona, Josep Maria de Porcioles, in November 1966, he was called Blancanieves (“Snow White”) in the newspaper Tele/Exprés. But he became famous with the name given to him by Sabater when National Geographic Magazine featured him on the main page in March 1967, with the English name Snowflake. This name spread among the press (Stern, Life, Paris-Match) and was later translated to Spanish as Copito de Nieve. Sabater himself called the gorilla Floquet or Copi, and in the later years Nfumu. The asteroid 95962 Copito, discovered by Catalan astronomer J. Manteca, is named in his honour”.

Singer and jury member Brian Ferry attends the Cartier “Travel With Style” Concours on March 12, 2011 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images for Cartier)

Penelope Cruz attends the Palme d'Or Award Ceremony held at the Palais des Festivals during the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2010 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak speaks to the media after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Chancellery on April 23, 2008 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

A voodoo believer, dressed as "Gede", a spirit of voodoo, sits on the cross of Baron Samdi during celebrations at the cemetery of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, November 1, 2016. Voodoo believers and devotees offer candles, alcohol and food. The Day of the Dead is celebrated on the first two days of November during All Saints and All Souls Day. (Photo by Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters)

A man dressed as Father Frost, the equivalent of Santa Claus, and Snow Maiden takes part in the contest “Yolka-fest-2016” (Fir-festival-2016) in Minsk, Belarus December 9, 2016. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)