Montserrat wildlife has been adversely affected by the Soufriere Hills volcano which has erupted several times since the late-1990s. The forest on one side of the island was destroyed and there is not much left standing there – pigs, goats and rats, introduced by humans, are prevalent here, eating plant life as well as the animals. There is an ongoing Montserrat volunteer conservation programme for both terrestrial and marine projects.
Consequently, Montserrat wildlife is now threatened and two species of lizards that are unique to the island and also the Montserrat oriole are critically endangered. There are a number of toads and tropical frogs on the island, including the cane toad and Lesser Antillean whistling frog, as well as the 'mountain chicken' – this is actually a frog, the Giant Ditch Frog, one of the largest in the world, and it is critically endangered. There are geckos, iguanas, lizards, as well as the worm snake and Antilles racer snake. The red-footed tortoise is also found on Montserrat as well as a number of species of bats.
Biologists are discovering, after devastating volcano eruptions over the years, that the marine life is returning to the waters round Montserrat. There are hawksbill turtles, puffer fish, blennie, golden tail eel, spotted snake eel, sharp tail eel, squid, sea horse, sea turtles, flying gurnard, southern stingray, squid, angelfish, peacock flounder… and more. Dolphins, eagle rays, nurse sharks and pipefish are also seen in the waters.
There are around 117 bird species which have been recorded in Montserrat. These include grebes, tropicbirds, frigatebirds, gannets, boobies, pelicans, herons, egrets, flycatchers, plovers, bananaquit, grassquit, bullfinch, sandpipers, gulls, doves, cuckoo, hummingbirds, kingfisher, thrasher, martins, thrush and warblers. To find out more about birds in the region generally, go to the Caribbean Birdwatching & Birds page in the Caribbean Leisure Activities section.
If Caribbean wildlife in general, as well as Montserrat wildlife, is of interest to you, you will probably enjoy our Caribbean Book Reviews section as we have reviewed several Caribbean wildlife books.