Page 9 - aruba-today-20201007

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LOCAL Wednesday 7 OctOber 2020

Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA):

Endangered species

KRALENDIJK, BONAIRE — cial treat. The Lined Sea- soft coral or a strand of al- to brown, grey, yellow, or-
The Dutch Caribbean is horse (Hippocampus erec- gae or seagrass; the Lined ange and red, and chang-
home to a large variety of tus), known on the ABC Seahorse is not the greatest es depending on the sea-
rare and exotic life. There islands as Kabai ‘i Awa, is of swimmers as its body is horse’s diet, mood and sur-
are over 200 endemic a beautiful, large seahorse much larger than its fins. roundings.
plants and animals in the that inhabits reef areas There are many fascinating
Leeward islands alone that as well as seagrass beds This seashorse’s common facts about the Lined Sea-
cannot be found anywhere and mangroves. If you are name is derived from the horse. Its eyes can move
else in the world. 75 globally lucky enough to see this dark lines that typically independently, mean-
endangered or vulnerable seahorse, you will most cover its body. Its color- ing that it can scan its sur-
species are still present on likely find it holding onto ing varies a lot, from black roundings quickly and eas-
the islands, including trees, ily. The male, which is larger snout.
snakes, sea turtles, birds, than female, has a kanga-
whales and fish. These spe- roo-like pouch under its tail. The Lined Seahorse, which
cies are facing a high risk The female, with whom the occurs throughout the
of extinction in the wild in male mates for life, depos- Western Atlantic, is listed
the medium to near future its her eggs in this pouch as Vulnerable on the IUCN
(as defined by IUCN’s red where they incubate for Red List of Threatened Spe-
list criteria). Many of these around 3 weeks. Once the cies because its population
species are protected by eggs hatch, the young stay has declined by approxi-
local and international law. in the pouch until they can mately 30%. It has suffered
swim on their own. Also, from habitat degradation,
Lined Seahorse because the Lined Sea- illegal trade (there is a huge
Today we will introduce to horse is a slow swimmer, it demand for seahorses for
you the lined seahorse. For cannot chase its prey. In- ornamental decoration,
most divers exploring the stead, it camouflages itself the aquarium trade as well
colorful reefs of the Dutch and when the prey is close as for traditional Chinese
Caribbean islands, en- enough (typically small medicine) and accidental
countering our species in crustaceans and mollusks), catch in shrimp and other
the spotlight is a very spe- it sucks it in with its long trawl fisheries.q