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local Tuesday 17 OcTOber 2023
Unique fauna of Aruba

For a small island, Aruba sure has vision and very good hearing.
a lot of unique treasures. Among The shoco is the national symbol of
these, we have some subspecies Aruba.
of animals that are unique to our
island. These have evolved to per- The shoco has about 20cm of
fectly adapt to our desert climate length, and the females are slightly
and make Aruba their home. At the heavier than the males. They are
same time, they are part of what light brown in color, with many
makes Aruba truly one of a kind. white spots. The belly of the Shoco
is either white or light brown, and
Cascabel (rattlesnake, Crotalus the shoco has striking yellow eyes.
durissus unicolor) Its beak is yellow/green. Young
According to the Arikok National owls do not have white spots and
Park, Aruba knows two kinds of are lighter in color.
snakes, the Santanero and the
Cascabel. The cascabel belongs The nest of the shoco is a burrow
to the rattlesnake family. The cas- in the ground. If the shoco can-
cabel is the only venomous snake not find a burrow, it will dig one in
from Aruba. It has a length of 65cm soft soil. The shoco lays one or two Prikichi (parakeet, Aratinga pertinax)
to 100cm, and is about 4 to 5cm eggs every other day until all the
wide. Its color varies from light eggs are laid – a shoco can lay up grey color and a distinctive white
brown to grey-brown, and its un- to four eggs. The first owlets hatch The prikichi weighs between 90 to belly. This white fur extends to the
derbelly is white. On its back there after three to four weeks. The sho- 100 grams. It has a greenish-brown bottom of the tail which becomes
are marks that are a little darker, in co owl takes care of the owlets for head with some yellow around the visible as the rabbit runs. These rab-
the shape of diamonds. three months until they leave the eye. The back and wings of the bits can grow up to approximately
nest. Only a few owlets survive. parakeet are dark green, and the 40 centimeters in length over their
Its reproduction is oviparous, underside of the body is a lighter short lifespan of 3 years. Cottontail
meaning the offspring can hatch The owlrs dig burrows in the ground shade of green. There is also a bit rabbits reach reproductive maturi-
from their eggs just before, during with low grass vegetation. An owl of blue in the wings. The parakeet's ty when they are just 2 to 3 months
or immediately after laying. can live up to nine years. beak is gray/black. old. A female rabbit, called a doe,
Parakeets often use termite nests finds a suitable nest spot under a
The cascabel lives mainly in the Its defense mechanism is simply to as breeding sites. Parakeets are shrub or rocks and lines it with fur.
Arikok National Park. It likes to live fly away or retreat to its burrows. found in all natural environments She can have an average of 3 to 4
in dark places, and is thus found They eat mostly insects, mice and (mondi) of the island. It defends it- litters per year averaging 5 young
hidden among the limestone rocks lizards, and the main threats to their self by flying away and loud cries. each. The doe only visits her young
and under stones. As a defense survival are boas – an invasive spe- Parakeets eat seeds from the pods once or twice a day to nurse her
mechanism, the cascabel uses its cies introduced by humans as pets of the Kwihi tree, Divi Divi, and co- babies for a period of 2 to 3 weeks.
rattle as a warning, and it is not an – and humans through destruction lumnar cactus. They also consume The young reach independence
aggressive animal. of their habitat. natural fruits. Its main predators are at 4 to 5 weeks.
boa constrictors, humans.
The cascabel feeds on lizards, small Prikichi (parakeet, Aratinga perti- The Aruban Conew is an endan-
mammals such as rats and mice. nax) Conew (cottontail rabbit, Sylvila- gered species and protected by
It paralyzes or kills its prey with its The Prikichi is the national bird of gus floridanus nigronuchalis) Aruban law. The Conew is thought
venom, which is injected through Aruba. On Aruba, Bonaire, and The Eastern Cottontail rabbit (Syl- to have drastically declined due
a bite. The enemies of the casca- Curaçao, parakeets can be found, vilagus floridanus) was probably to an increase in human activities,
bel are donkeys, goats, humans but each of the three islands has a brought over to the island by In- habitat fragmentation and preda-
and cars. Humans are the biggest different breed. The Yellow-shoul- dian settlers thousands of years tion by the invasive Boa constric-
enemy of the cascabel, as they kill dered Amazon parakeet that we ago as a source of food. This rab- tor as well as feral cats and dogs.
them and destroy their habitat for have on Aruba is also found along bit, locally known as Conew, has However, recently there seem to
urbanization. the coast of Venezuela. Unfortu- spread all over the island and has be more rabbit sightings in rural
nately, there is interbreeding be- become part of our ecosystem. and wilderness areas and also in
Shoco (burrowing owl, Athene cu- tween the breeds due to cage The very adaptable Conew can the National Park. This could be
nicularia arubensis) birds from, for example, Curaçao live in a wide variety of habitats, linked to a recent decline of the
The shoco is a small bird which is sel- being released on Aruba. The par- including Aruba’s xeric scrublands, invasive Boa population after the
dom seen. They are active during akeet population on Aruba is in where it typically grazes on weeds long period of drought. As the
the day but are more active later danger due to extensive defores- and grasses. Conew can reproduce very quick-
in the day and at night for hunting. tation occurring on the island be- ly, a short break in predation pres-
These owls have very good night cause of the growing population. The Aruban Conew has a brownish sure can lead to a fast increase of
rabbits. Sadly, the Boas are back
on the rise again with the truly wet
rainy seasons we have recently ex-
perienced. This could cause a new
decline in the Conew population
that was just starting to recover.

These are but a few of Aruba’s
beautiful inhabitant, which we
must all contribute to protect. For
more information, visit https://
www.arubanationalpark.org/
Conew (cottontail rabbit, Sylvilagus Cascabel (rattlesnake, Crotalus duris- Shoco (burrowing owl, Athene cunicu- main/flora-fauna/ q
floridanus nigronuchalis) sus unicolor) laria arubensis)