Nature is what makes Culebra so special. About
one-third of our island has been set aside by the U.S.
Department of the Interior to protect our coral reefs, forests
and wildlife, some of which are endangered and are found
nowhere else in the world. Unlike the nearby Virgin Islands,
Culebra was not settled until the late 19th Century, and early
settlers never had a chance to introduce destructive alien
species like mongooses and other pests. As a result, vast
colonies of sea birds, like noddies, boobies, long-tailed
tropicbirds, and terns of all kinds nest on Culebra, free of
danger from introduced predators. Our beaches host hundreds of
sea turtles which come to lay their eggs on their deserted
shores. Among these turtles is the endangered giant
leatherback, which can grow as big and weigh as much as a
small car. In season (March to June), the Fish and Wildlife
Service sponsors turtle-watching trips. You can volunteer to
go along by signing up at their office on Culebra (see below).
They can also point you to the many hiking paths that
crisscross the Preserve and are open to the public. And don't
miss the butterflies. At times they are so numerous, they fill
the air like snow.
An
interesting problem for the keepers of the Preserve occured a
few years ago on Culebra. A small breeding colony of
endangered long-tailed tropicbirds had established itself on
one of the offshore cays, under the protective eye of the Fish
and Wildlife Service. Along came a peregrine falcon, another
endangered species, and started preying on the tropicbirds!
Which species to save? They finally decided that they had to
let nature take its course and, fortunately, the peregrine
falcon eventually moved on.
Pelicans
also visit our island. In fact, they sometimes nest in the
mangroves along the east coast. On breezy days, you can
sometimes see soaring greater frigate, or man-of-war, birds in
the skies over Culebra, especially over the large bay,
Ensenada Honda. A good place to see these spectacular birds is
from the deck of La Palmita just before sunset.
Sometimes they look like they're just standing still in the
air, like large kites. Culebra is the Spanish word for
"snake". But don't worry - it wasn't named because of snakes.
The name comes from the island's serpentine shape when you
look at it on a map. Unlike other tropical islands, we have no
poisonous snakes on Culebra. Just a few harmless ones, tiny
relatives of the boa, which are so rare and so shy that few
tourists have ever seen one. They are an endangered and
protected species. In the unlikely event that you do see one,
consider yourself very lucky and please don't disturb it.
Several species of lizards call Culebra home and are abundant
in fields, woods and around dwellings. One species, the gecko,
is unafraid of humans and will even come inside houses. All
Culebra's lizards are harmless to humans, but they are fierce
predators of insects. They are one reason why we have so few
bugs. In fact, city people sometimes buy lizards like these
from pet shops and keep them in their apartments to eliminate
ants and roaches. Many Culebrans consider having them around
the house to be good luck.
Larger iguanas also live on the island, but they also are rare. In the past, they were
hunted for their meat and very few of them are left, although they are starting to make a comeback. Perhaps
the most endangered creature on Culebra is the giant anole, a
two-foot tree-dwelling iguana. There haven't been any
officially recorded in the last thirty years, but unofficial
sightings are reported every now and then, especially on Monte
Resaca, Culebra's only rain forest. Here is a picture taken by
Mike Pierson, a former Culebra resident, who was lucky enough
to see and photograph an iguana a few years ago, right here in
Culebra. You probably WILL notice the birds on Culebra, like
the biggest black hummingbirds you've ever seen! Actually,
they only appear black. In fact, they are a dark, irridescent
green. And you can't miss the bold, little black and yellow
creature, known as a yellowbird or bananaquit, that sings a
raspy song while it browses among the flowers, searching for a
taste of sweet pollen. A plate of sugar water will bring both
of these to your table. And then there are the big, bold,
pearly-eyed thrashers that whistle from hiding places in the
trees, driving bird watchers crazy trying to spot them. There
are usually some greater frigate birds to be seen, soaring on
long thin wings. And pelicans are everywhere. The Puerto Rican
cuckoo, which nests only on Puerto Rico, is an occasional
visitor. Besides this one, there are two other cuckoo species
on Culebra. The smooth-billed ani is an odd looking blackbird
with a thick bill. The list is long and interesting. Bring a
Caribbean bird book or buy one at one of the tourist shops. Culebra's inner
bays are lined with mangrove trees and there is an area of
mangrove marsh that is fairly extensive. These mangrove areas
are one of the most important ecological features of any small
island. They act as nurseries for hundreds of species of fish
and other sea life.Their roots are so thick that larger
predator fish cannot penetrate them to eat the hatchlings. In
these protected habitats, fish can grow pretty big before they
venture out of the mangroves.
This
insures a good supply of fish to maintain the population of a
healthy coral reef. Which, by the way, is something else that
Culebra has - an abundance of healthy coral reefs. All these
environmentally sensitive areas are protected by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. The Service is doing all they can to
protect our island's fragile little ecosystem. They have a
program which allows volunteers to help collect data on the
nesting habits of sea turtles. You can participate in this
program if you wish. Call the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service's
TurtleWatch, and they will schedule you for a night on a
beach. The number is 787-763-9875. Turtles don't come up onto
every beach every night to lay eggs, but your chances of
seeing one up close are pretty good. Besides, just walking
back and forth on a tropical beach at night, looking at skies
filled with the brightest stars, is a great idea even without
the cool aspects of participating in a REAL nature
study!
Although
they are extremely rare on Culebra, we are going to mention
one of nature's wonders that you can easily see if you want to
take a side trip to the rain forest over on the big island.The
creature we are speaking of is the Coqui, a tiny tree frog. It
has a loud call that is heard in the daytime (only when it is
raining) and throughout much of the night (rain or not). The
call sounds unmistakably like "Coke-EE" with the accent on the
EE. . The Coqui, while quite prolific on the
big island of Puerto Rico, is nonexistent on most other
Caribbean islands because it needs sufficient rainfall to
create a rain forest. The tiny frogs lay their eggs in the
water which collects in the leaves of bromeliads (air plants).
In the little pockets of water at the base of the leaves, the
eggs hatch and the tadpoles undergo their metamorphosis into
frogs. Without an abundance of rain, the plants are unable to
keep their tiny pools full enough to support these delightful
arboreal amphibians. Coquis are extremely rare on Culebra, but they have
been heard on occasion.
And finally, we should mention that Culebra has veins of quartz with pockets of crystals.
Most of these are on the southeastern penninsula of the island
and make interesting souvenirs if you are lucky enough to find
one.
