The islands are home to a variety of lizard species, including the depicted Saint Croix ground lizard, which is found on the four islands Protestant Cay, Ruth Cay, Green Cay and Buck Island.
The Virgin Islands are also home to several non-venomous snake species, including the ground snake, Mona boaVirgin Islands tree boa and blind snake (Typhlops richardii). While the green- and hawksbill turtles are found throughout the U.S.V.I., the leatherback turtle is mostly observed on Saint Croix, and in large aggregations around Sandy Point. The largest populations of hawksbill turtles however are found on Buck Island and the east end of Saint Croix.[5]:72
Native lizards such as anole, ameiva and geckos are easily observed from the Cas Cay Wildlife Sanctuary and Cas Cay Island, a tropical island a few miles south of Red Hook. The Cas Cay Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the 680-acre Mangrove Lagoon Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a protected area in eastern Saint Thomas with various native species.[5]:73–74
Most of the amphibians in the U.S.V.I. are residents of freshwater lakes, streams and wetlands, including for instance the Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay Pond on Saint Thomas; the 500-acre Great Pond and the Creque Dam on Saint Croix; and the Reef Bay Waterfall- and Pool, Francis Bay Pond and Saltpond Bay on Saint John.
Land mammals
The greater bulldog bat is among the six bats that are native to the islands.
Of the non-native mammals, the white-tailed deer was introduced to the islands during the 1700s, while feral hogs and dogs where introduced by natives during the Pre-Columbian era. European settlers later introduced domesticated species such as donkeys, sheep, goats, horses, chickens, cats, and also local pests such as the rat and the small Asian mongoose.[2]:302–303
The small Asian mongoose has been blamed for numerous native extinctions and has reached a density of two animals per acre across the U.S. Virgin Islands.[5]:92 While the small Asian mongoose was introduced in the 1800s to control rat populations, the white-tailed deer was imported for deer hunting purposes in the late 1700s and again through the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937.
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles starting with Cuba, to the east by the Lesser Antilles, and to the south by the northern coast of South America. The Gulf of Mexico lies to the northwest.
The National Aquarium – also known as National Aquarium in Baltimore and formerly known as Baltimore Aquarium – is a non-profit public aquarium located at 501 East Pratt Street on Pier 3 in the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. Constructed during a period of urban renewal in Baltimore, the aquarium opened on August 8, 1981. The aquarium has an annual attendance of 1.5 million visitors and is the largest tourism attraction in the State of Maryland. The aquarium holds more than 2,200,000 US gallons (8,300,000 L) of water, and has more than 17,000 specimens representing over 750 species. The National Aquarium's mission is to inspire conservation of the world's aquatic treasures. The aquarium's stated vision is to confront pressing issues facing global aquatic habitats through pioneering science, conservation, and educational programming.
Trinidad and Tobago are continental islands with a geologically very recent history of direct land bridge connection to South America. As a result, unlike most of the Caribbean Islands, Trinidad and Tobago supports a primarily South American flora and fauna and has greater diversity of plant and animal species than the Antilles. However, rates of endemism are lower than in the rest of the Caribbean because there has been less time for genetic isolation from mainland populations because of the history of land bridge connections and hence fewer opportunities for speciation, and so a greater proportion of the species in Trinidad and Tobago are also found on the South American mainland. Trinidad is nearer to mainland South America and has been directly connected to the mainland via land bridges more often and for longer periods than Tobago. This, as well as Trinidad's larger size and more varied topography and hydrology compared to that of Tobago allow greater species and ecosystem diversity on the former compared to that on the later of the islands.
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The fauna of the United States of America is all the animals living in the Continental United States and its surrounding seas and islands, the Hawaiian Archipelago, Alaska in the Arctic, and several island-territories in the Pacific and in the Caribbean. The U.S. has many endemic species found nowhere else on Earth. With most of the North American continent, the U.S. lies in the Nearctic, Neotropic, and Oceanic faunistic realms, and shares a great deal of its flora and fauna with the rest of the American supercontinent.
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The Hans Lollik Islands are two islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands owned by Larry Page. In 2014, Page bought Great Hans Lollik Island ("GHL") and its smaller neighbor, Little Hans Lollik, for $23 million.
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Wild Caribbean is a four-part BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural and cultural history of the Caribbean Islands and Sea. It was first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in January 2007. The series was produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and narrated by actor Steve Toussaint. This series also aired in Australia on ABC1 each Sunday at 7:30pm from 15 February 2009.
Teluk Cenderawasih National Park is the largest marine national park of Indonesia, located in Cenderawasih Bay, south-east of Bird's Head Peninsula. It includes the islands of Mioswaar, Nusrowi Island, Roon, Rumberpon, Anggrameos and Yoop. The park protects a rich marine ecosystem, with over 150 recorded coral species, for which it is considered a potential World Heritage Site.
Jonathan Bird's Blue World is a family-friendly underwater science/adventure television program. The program is hosted by underwater cinematographer Jonathan Bird. This series airs on public television stations in the US. The program is designed for family viewing, and each segment finds Bird trying to unravel a mystery, witness an animal behavior or explore an underwater environment. The first season consisted of 5 half-hour programs filmed in standard definition, and the subsequent seasons were all shot in high-definition. The second and third seasons each won four New England Emmy Awards. The fourth season was nominated for a 2013 National Daytime Emmy Award. The pilot episode from season 1 won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. The program is magazine format with each television episode consisting of 2-3 segments. These segments appear individually on YouTube and the Blue World website as webisodes. There are currently 6 seasons.
The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park (BANP) is a protected area in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique on the Bazaruto Archipelago. The park was proclaimed on 25 May 1971. It is off the coast of the Vilanculos and Inhassoro districts, covering a large expanse of ocean and five islands.
Solitary Islands Marine Park (SIMP) is a marine park in New South Wales State waters, Australia. It adjoins the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve and was declared under the Marine Parks Act 1997 (NSW) in January 1998. Prior to this it was declared a marine reserve in 1991. The Park was one of the first declared in NSW and stretches along the northern NSW coast, from Muttonbird Island, Coffs Harbour, to Plover Island near Sandon River, 75 kilometres to the north. It includes coastal estuaries and lakes and extends from the mean high water mark, to three nautical miles out to sea, covering an area of around 72,000 hectares. There are five main islands in the Park, North Solitary Island, North West Solitary Island, South West Solitary Island, South Solitary Island and Split Solitary Island, as well as other significant outcrops such as Muttonbird Island and submerged reefs.
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The flora and fauna of Honduras reflects the country's geographical location inside the tropics. This has allowed for diverse species of plants and animals to be adapted, but some of them are now in danger of extinction. This has posed the Honduran government, offices and nature organizations to look after the protection of the local environment, like the creation of nature reserves.
1 2 Acheson, Pamela; Myers, Richard B. (2007). The Best of St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (3rded.). New Smyrna Beach, Florida: Two Thousand Three Associates. ISBN9781892285126.
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