Page 15 - AHATA

Tuesday 8 augusT 2023 locAl
A10

Episode 31

Island Insight Episode XXXII: Insular Alert II; Wara- Wara the

Crested Caracara

Our beautiful Crested Ca- gregating in groups and
racaras are less frequently roosting communally. They
encountered today in Aru- wade in shallow waters to
ba. However they are still grab fish, dig up turtle eggs
common in South America. with their feet, and turn
We recommend avoiding over debris with feet to un-
areas where they breed cover insects or dead ani-
since this can affect re- mals, specially goats and
searchers’ ability to esti- road kill. Their nesting pe-
mate population trends. riod ranges between 42 to
56 days with clutches of 1
Based upon Etnia Na- to 4 eggs.
tiva’s research, findings
revealed that population Although populations on
has dropped by 50% since the island have received
1985, which indicates pro- some recent attention by
tection must be considered our curator at Etnia Na-
or even to be listed as a environment. This myopia pace we are destroying causes are the direct ex- tiva, the crested caraca-
species that is very much has had devastating con- our island’s ecosystem at ploitation of wildlife by bull- ra is relatively un-studied
threatened. Wara-wara, as sequences that is blowing an unprecedented rate in dozing everything to the throughout its range. Rapid
we called this magnificent up in our face as we speak. the name of progress and ground, climate change, urban development in and
bird in Papiamento, are re- We had to import thou- threatening the survival of pollution and the spread of around the district of Noord
sourceful animals that eat sands of workers that also all species that only live on invasive species and burn- has resulted in loss of many
just about anything. only had the money they Aruba. The evidence is irre- ing down the Amazon is set nesting habitats, and in
could send back home to futable. The destruction of to become ever more de- 2004 this population was
In the following sequence their families in their country our biodiversity and ecosys- structive. classified as threatened by
of four pictures, we can of origin in mind. tem services has reached Etnia Nativa studies, limiting
observe a breba cactus levels that threaten our In this episode I would like expansion of the tourist in-
disappearing which had Many, who have had no well-being our product, as to dedicate a few words to dustry, land-clearing, and
a long standing nest in it, formal education, come to much as human-induced a very special scavenger, habitat conversion could
while one bird is jumping compete with locals and climate change on the a bird whose main job is be beneficial to the spe-
around in stress around could be exploited in a “disputed or controversial to keep the island clean of cies.
what once used to be its way locals reject for them- global warming effect.” dead carcasses which can
nest, then stands on the selves. This unfortunate situ- spread disease. Our wara- In some regions, direct hu-
pile of the bulldozed cac- ation brought the need for With these words chair wara or crested caracara is man persecution contin-
tus, only to fly away and more housing, more infra- Robert Watson launched a bird of prey in the family ues, primarily by bull dozing
contemplate the ongoing structure and supporting a meeting in Paris to agree Falconidae. It was formerly mature candelabra cactus
destruction with the rest development, which had the final text of a major U.N. considered conspecific like the cadushi, Stenocer-
of its family that lost their its toll on our lives and on report on the state of na- with the southern caracara eusgriseus and the breba,
home to development. our fragile ecosystem. This ture around the world – the and the extinct Guadalupe Cereus repandus, shooting
form of exploitation of our biggest and most thorough caracara as the “crest- and even poisoning, mostly
From the moment we island, by turning a blind assessment to date, put ed caracara”. The name because of negative at-
decided to develop our eye to the essence of what together by 150 scientists “caracara” is said to be titudes of non-islanders to-
home into a top tourist des- we have had to share with from 50 countries. of Caquetio Indian origin, wards scavengers.q
tination, island officials had our visitors, sincere friend- Guara-wara derived from
solely focused on the rev- liness, pristine ecosystem The report was mostly grim the unusual rattling vocal- Source; Island Insight column
enue this could generate and a yearlong sunny cli- reading. We humans have ization that the bird utters by Etnia Nativa
for the island, and the mon- mate is in danger of dis- already significantly al- when agitated.
ey they can earn without appearing forever. At this tered three-quarters of all
much consideration for our land and two-thirds of the The crested caracara is a
oceans. More than a third bird of open habitats, typi-
of land and three-quarters cally grassland, prairie, pas-
of freshwater resources are tures, or desert with scat-
devoted to crops or live- tered taller trees, shrubs, or
stock. mature candelabra cactus
in which it nests.
Around 700 vertebrates
have gone extinct in the Adult pairs are generally
past few centuries. Forty monogamous, highly ter-
per cent of amphibians ritorial and exhibit strong
and a third of coral species, site fidelity. The young re-
sharks and marine mam- main with their parents for
mals look to follow. The several months after fledg-
main reason is simple: Our ing, and at some sites two
expanding neighborhoods broods are raised per year.
and the number of hotels Non-breeding caracaras
are leaving less space for are consistently gregarious
wildlife. The other major and nomadic, often con-