Flowers, Plants and Animals – Dominica Wildlife
Dominica is known as the “Nature Isle of the Caribbean” for good reason. With close to a dozen mountains above 1,500 feet (500m), the tallest being Morne Diablotins, at 4,747 feet (1,447 m) above sea level, Dominica is extremely mountainous. Due to its rugged terrain combined with the fierce resistance of the native Carib Amerindians, Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans. It is the only remaining Caribbean island with a designated Carib territory. The Kalinago tribe now live on a 3,700-acre (15 sq km) territory on the east coast of the island.
With 9 of the Caribbean’s 16 active volcanoes, Dominica is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, and it’s still being formed with visible ongoing geothermal/volcanic activity. The island is also one of the most rained-on places on earth, so there’s no surprise that it is a fertile green, rain-forest with hundreds of streams and rivers, dozens of waterfalls, along with freshwater crater lakes as well as hot springs and fumaroles.
The Government of Dominica is working to keep the island a natural beauty through protection of an extensive natural park system which includes the Cabrits National Park, the Northern Forest Reserve, Central Forest Reserve and Morne Trois Pitons National Park, a tropical forest blended with scenic volcanic features, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Wildlife on the island includes birds, turtles, crabs, frogs, lizards, snakes and bats, as well as a few land mammals (Manicou opossums, a rodent called an Agouti, along with wild pigs). There have been over 150 bird and hummingbird species identified in Dominica, including their national symbol, the Sisserou (Imperial Amazon) parrot, as well as the Jaco (Red-necked) parrot. Other birds of interest include the Bananaquit, Rufous-throated Solitaire, various Thrashers and Grackles as well as Frigate Birds over the ocean. The island is also home to a number of birds of prey, including the Broad-Winged (or Chicken) Hawk as well as a dozen different types of bat.
Dominica has many iguana, gecko and lizard species, as well as small tree frogs and large ground frogs, including one known as the Dominican Mountain Chicken (apparently a culinary delicacy). Four types of snake live on Dominica, including the Boa Constrictor, however none are venomous. There are many small spiders on the island, however none of them are venomous either.
Of course, the lush Dominica forests are home to a wide variety of tropical tree and plant life, including multiple fruit trees, orchids, ferns, and flowers such as lantanas, heliconias, blue wax flowers as well as the national flower, the Bwa Kwaib.
In the waters, just off the shores of the island, numerous whale and dolphin species can be seen. Due to Dominica’s healthy reefs, volcanic walls and associated deep water, the island also offers some remarkable dive sites where a variety of fish / sea life can be viewed. This includes barracuda, horse-eye jacks, grunts, blackbar soldier fish, tuna, batfish, yellowtail snapper, frogfish, eagle ray, electric ray, grouper, amberjack, yellowhead jawfish, king mackerel, scorpion fish, cero, flying gunards, Angelfish, Caribbean reef squid, seahorses, sand eels, moray eels, shrimp, red-banded lobster, sea snakes, sea urchins, Decorator crab, and sea-pens.
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