So many creatures, so little time!
This is the reason when you hike you carry a big stick.Walking into one of these fellow's webs with him in the middle is an insane situation. Do...not... panic! I've heard they don't bite, but I don't want to find out. This one is small!  |
| Golden Orb Spider |
Land crabs! They can get to be the size of a 12 inch frying pan. They have huge claws, big eyes and a nasty attitude. The good news is, they tend to stay in their holes and avoid confrontation.
 |
| Land Crab Holes |
 |
| Himself |
 |
| One of Their Claws |
This is a bush cat feeding station run by volunteers. Its a wire mesh box with a small opening for the cat to fit through, food and water is placed inside. Unfortunately STJ is overrun by wild cats. They are breeding unchecked, destroying bird and lizard populations. They get into fights, have diseases and it's basically a sad situation. The shelter here, the Animal Care Center of St John, works hard to help these cats by providing feeding stations, spay and neutering and will provide the paperwork and equipment you need to take an island cat home. Island cats are friendly and smart. Once a month a volunteer comes and traps cats inside the station. They are then caught and taken to be provided for, their wounds and illnesses treated and get them neutered. Education has helped West Indians understand better about animal abuse, but it's still a sad situation, having to do with a clash of cultures. I won't even go into it, I think you can get it.
http://www.stjohnanimalcarecenter.com/
http://www.stjohnanimalcarecenter.com/
Coki frogs are the ones you hear at night that make such a tropical sound, not unlike Peepers. After it rains they sing. It was by luck I found this one. I'd been using the hose to clean the garden fountain and he and two others were sheltering in the drain pipe.They are small, only about 1-2 inches.
The chicken is now becoming an island plague almost as bad as the goat and cat. At first it was quaint to see them running around town, what tropical (third world?) image doesn't have chickens? And the chicks are so cute! But soon when they're in restaurants, crowing at 4AM, destroying gardens and eating lizards and eggs, competing with natural creatures for habitat ... they grow to be a pest. Another one of man's irresponsible outcomes.
 |
| Mangrove Cuckoo |
Elusive, you hear the Mangrove Cuckoo more than you see him. He's a pretty big bird with a long striped tail. Here's a link to his call. I got the photo from this site too, though I've seen them flying, I have never been able to find them to get a picture.
Oh yuk, patootie.... I hate this guy. The Frangipani Caterpillar. So called because that's what they like to eat - the leaves of the Frangipani tree. They leave the tree looking like a skeleton, a bunch of sticks on a trunk. They come by the dozens walking all over everything, about 6 fat inches long, with sticky feet and a horn on their butt that they swing around and try to poke you with. They're toxic (see the colors?) so nothing eats them, not even chickens. You'd think at least they would turn into something glorious, but they become an el boro brown medium sized moth of no consequence. But I've got their number... I put reverse duct tape on the tree, like you do with the Gypsy Moths, so the nasty worms get stuck and can't get up to do their worst. Do I take glee in their dessicated corpses hanging off the tape as a warning to others? You bet! This is the first year we've had leaves on the tree and we may even have the beautifully fragrant flowers. Take THAT!
 |
| Frangipani Caterpillar |
No comments:
Post a Comment