Caribbean Wildlife

Coral Reefs

Caribbean wildlife offers exquisite coral reefs. These have developed over thousands of years, aided by the warming influence of the Gulf Stream. The Reefs occur in warm, shallow water, and form a unique habitat for many species.

The coral are quite fragile and easily damaged. Pollution from shipping, offshore mining, and industry can kill living coral quite quickly, thus depriving other species of their natural habitat. The reefs and the sheltered lagoons they create are important to several species of sea turtle. The Caribbean has hawksbill, loggerhead, green and leatherback turtles. Leatherbacks are huge and can weigh up to half a ton!

Fishes and Marine Mammals

The names of the fishes that inhabited the waters of the Caribbean are as exotic and colourful as they are themselves: parrot fish, hog fish, queen trigger fish, butterfly fish, porcupine fish and angel fish, not to mention the predators such as barracuda, swordfish and marlin. Dolphins such as the bottlenose and spinner are also common, having a reputation for swimming close to divers. Each year between December and April, thousands of humpback whales gather in the silver banks between the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Dominican Republic, creating outstanding whale watching opportunities.

Botanical Wonderland

Ecologically, the Caribbean is ‘neo-tropical', which means its vegetation is typical of the new world tropical zone. The most common and easily recognised plants are the ubiquitous coconut, which grows in sandy areas. More pan tropical species of plant include palms, laurels, myrtles, mulberries and palm ferns.

Temperatures are relatively stable, so variations in what grows and where, come from differences in humidity and altitude. Trade winds mean that the east and northeast are humid, while the west and southwes are arid. The Caribbean also has mangrove swamps which are found on flat, sheltered coasts.

Cultivated plants Cultivation of the islands began with the indigenous Indian inhabitants and was taken to extremes by plantation owners who also introduced foreign species. Perhaps the most notable import is sugar cane which was originally from south Asia. Pineapples are also a major resource and were brought from South America at the end of the 15th century. Many islands produce just one major crop. For example St Kitts and Barbados are planted with sugar cane, whilst St Lucia, St Vincent and Dominica are banana producers.