Native wildlife of Puerto Rico, it may not be what you think it is, our problems are solved easily, not so in Puerto Rico.

  I met up with a neighbor this morning, she and her friend were walking down our terribly bumpy road, sometimes someone hits a bump and fly's off the road. It's true, the last one was a guy being chased by the police down our dead-end road, it's 3 miles long, apparently, the guy didn't know that, he hit a telephone pole after going airborne at about midnight, he was flown out by helicopter. Back to my neighbor, they were looking for a dog that had run off the night before, broke a line he was tied to. (OK I don't tie dogs up) As usual it set me to wondering about other things, lately, I've been all in focus of the disaster in Puerto Rico, rather than concentrate on the terrible response, I am thinking of another issue, survival of the wildlife. It also makes me realize how really trivial the first part of this paragraph is, most of our problems are solved easily, not so in Puerto Rico.
 

The Manatee must be safe underwater during these major storms, this is
a good photo of a mother and baby.

What wildlife is in Puerto Rico and how susceptible are they to being terminated by the disasters rendering the Island country desperate. I have never been there, even so, I have always thought due to it being an island paradise in the tropics the usual slate of animals populates the island. Some of them I guessed correctly, some not, I thought OK monkey's of various types, snakes, maybe a big cat like leopards, a raccoon-type of animal and other furry little mammals and my list goes on. I was not correct in assuming that I knew anything at all about the fauna, wildlife, and Geography. Puerto Rico is a very interesting place, there is a lot to do, sightseeing, things to eat and music. The wildlife, however, is not what I expected, there are no monkeys, large cats or macaw parrots. There is a lot of marine life, beautiful coral reefs, whales, manatees and a rich variety of mollusk, fish, and bi-valves. The list of land-based animals is not very large.
  Puerto Rico's landscape is varied, composing of dry forest, rain forest, mountains and flat plains in the flood zones. Some of the animal residents are recognizable to visitors, others a person must look very closely to see them, and most are on the endangered species list, due to the encroachment of civilization. 
  It is an island that was formed by volcanic eruptions, rising from the sea floor, animal's had no way to land on the island, so how did they get there? Not very many are left, civilization has been very tough on them. Of course, the birds probably flew there, possibly being blown by storm winds along with flying insects (the dreaded mosquito included). The reptiles and amphibians may have arrived by a few ways, one way is by eggs in the case of amphibians that are laid in salt water. Another way is they may have arrived on vegetation "rafts", sometimes during Hurricanes and other large storms, large chunks of vegetation break loose with animals on them. Some of the "rafts" I have seen out at sea were as large as an acre or two, some looked like small islands. The small islands were an acre or more as well, one I remember had a large Palm tree growing in the middle of it.

Birds use the floating island too until they are so far from land then the flock
thins out drastically, but some stay with it all the way accross.

On those rafts there can also be lizards, snakes and small furry mammals, there is enough for all of them to eat and stay alive for years. Some of the rafts did appear to be at sea for years, they were very well developed, some in science theorize many Pacific Ocean islands were populated in this manner. The advantage with Puerto Rico is the other islands and the large mainland are relatively close, giving the wildlife a better chance of surviving the journey. The rafts most likely landed and immediately took root on the rich volcanic soil rapidly spreading throughout the entire island. There were probably many hundreds if not thousands of these rafts landing, and after these storms, there are most likely more landing every day. With the arrival of humans, the accidental import of animals was most likely. The first people on the island arrived on 19 November 1493, led by none else than Christopher Columbus, he named it San Juan Bautista (for John the Baptist). He formed it as a Spanish state, existing as a colony, permanent settlements followed in short order. There was no ancient mariner migration, no people native to the America's made it there, people from many thousands of miles away colonized it. The people speak Spanish and some are the descendants of the first settlers.
  A very beloved native inhabitant of the island is a small frog of which a person may hear before seeing, it is the Coqui frog. living under the moist leaves and plants on the forest floor they are observable throughout the island. They are heard everywhere on the island and can be seen by looking closely in the undergrowth in dark hiding spots. There are a lot of migratory birds visiting Puerto Rico every year, bird watching is very popular there. The Puerto Rican Parrot is not a large or small bird, it is a mid-sized bird, green in color commonly with a red row or two of feathers above its beak between the eyes. Dark eyes with a white distinctive outline on, the beak is the same color as this white outline. If you are visiting this bird is one of which you will not see, it is severely endangered, soon to be gone. You would see a lot of Hummingbirds, watching the many beautifully colored flowers will expose them on the eternal quest to locate nectar.
  The insects on the island are composed of some commonly recognized "bugs" like mosquitos, spiders and of course roaches. One of the most noticeable features of the native insects is their size, they grow pretty large. In the rainforest, we will see very large snails, beetles, and walking sticks. Tarantulas, scorpions and an extremely large centipede are there just to add to the frightful side of the matter. They are not real obvious or easy to spot, if we don't know where to look we won't see them. I would have to purchase some sort of a guidebook, I, like many people typically use such a book even at home. I use two bird books at home and I still have a hard time identifying birds native to my home area.
  Reptiles are the most abundant animal occupants of this Tropical Paradise, Anoles are everywhere, small lizards, I imagine them as being like the "blue-bellied lizards" or "fence lizards" so common in the Western United States, the anoles resemble them. But then again how many different shapes can a small lizard be? They are green however like other lizards they are able to change colors. Iguanas and other large lizards are common, some set "free" by misguided but well-meaning pet owners, others escape their confinement, and others escape during Hurricanes and other large storms. The Iquana have no natural enemies, so following a typical path as taken by wildlife when they overpopulate, they have multiplied to the point of being a nuisance.

It looks like an alligator to me, big teeth, huge mouth and rough looking.
This is a Caiman.

  A small crocodile the "Caiman" is found in the typical places we would expect to see alligators and crocodiles. They are small but they can still do a lot of damage to flesh and bone, I must admit even though I have never been around alligators or crocodiles just seeing them on TV makes my hair stand on end.
  Snakes, to see one is a fairly rare event, on the island, knowledge of where to look, being in the correct area and luck will add up to a better chance to see one. The Puerto Rican Boa Constrictors are one of the larger snakes, large, very graceful and they are also on the endangered species list. Another snake is the Puerto Rican Racer, not seen very often, they are mildly poisonous, aggressive but not big on attacking and a small "Cobra" type hood that expands when it is challenged. There are several other snakes, most are rarely seen preferring to stay to themselves in their well-protected environment, hidden by their coloring.
  The Sea Turtle, always interesting, mysterious and prolific, many people hunted them as a source of food. Coming to the island to lay their eggs, then swimming off to sea, returning to where ever they come from. The hatchlings face a very trying ordeal directly after hatching while making their way to the ocean, very few survive the first 10 days of life, their lives are on the line until they are too large for most predators.
  Some Bats flew there making them the only mammal native to Puerto Rico, possibly blown off course by high winds and storms, or maybe they followed the mosquitoes. (I dought if the mosquitoes flew that long distance). Bats eat thousands of Mosquito's every night, it is a noble battle reminding me of the companies spraying for bugs on the mainland. Is the goal for the bug spraying companies to eradicate all of the bugs on the planet? I will predict the Bats will do a better job at it than a commercial outfit, but even they won't make very much headway, I do believe we are stuck with the pest (mosquitos that is, notice I did not capitalize the "M"), Bats are our friends.
  The Mongoose on the island control the snakes, how did they arrive, after all, aren't they an inhabitant of Southwest Asia? They are, being brought to Puerto Rico by humans thinking the snakes would be controlled, as with most invasive species it ended with mixed results.
  Mice and Rats came to the island on sailing ships, common non-paying passengers, as we remember they were responsible for spreading the "Plague", they are the uninvited guest at best.
  All of the domesticated animals, Hogs, Horses, Cattle, Sheep, Dogs, and Cats arrived over time introduced by humans are now as commonplace as they are on the Mainland.
  As with all wild animals, we must exhibit caution and respect, we must not harass them or tease them, especially do not attempt to handle them. Some are poisonous, some sting or bite hard and rabies has made it to the islands as well. On the mainland most snake bites are suffered by males on their hands, it won't take very long for you figure out why, oh you already have. Yes it's so logical women normally are not bitten, I have known several people who have gotten bitten by Rattlesnakes, normally after asking them how they lost their finger, every one of them was men attempting to pick them up.

Puerto Rican Racer snake, it is mildly poisonous, mildly aggressive.

  My friend's family lives in Puerto Rico, he has sent his sister funds for the purchase of an Electric Generator and deposited funds in a bank for her. He said she is in a safe place now, they still need lots of help. I don't want to be political, I want to be passionate, I am not sleeping well at night, I imagine many people are in that boat, I am spending a considerable amount of time counting my blessings and hoping and praying for a place to be reached where the people are safe, fed and have basic needs met. Monetary donations are best, if you don't know where to send a donation, send it to the Governor or Mayor I'm sure they will put it to good use. Even if they buy a hamburger for themselves with it, at least it's going towards the relief effort, and 100% of the donation is used in Puerto Rico and not supporting a propped up contribution site enriching the originators. If I could just get that little kid a pair of socks, shoes or a blanket it would be worth the effort, my eyes are full of tears for them. Unfortunately, the tears, hopes, and prayers don't do much, the people need action and other people, not to do for them, but to do with them, an unpopular sentiment in some corners of this country.
  He needs to get off his small hands and do something for a change.

Thanks for reading and sharing, I'd like to hear what you have to say, vent if you want, tell me your story.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com