Page 16 - AHATA

A7
LOCAL Friday 26 September 2025
Unique fauna of Aruba

For a small island, Aruba sure spots. The belly of the Shoco pods of the Kwihi tree, Divi fur extends to the bottom of ties, habitat fragmentation
has a lot of unique treasures. is either white or light brown, Divi, and columnar cactus. the tail which becomes vis- and predation by the inva-
Among these, we have some and the shoco has striking They also consume natural ible as the rabbit runs. These sive Boa constrictor as well
subspecies of animals that yellow eyes. Its beak is yel- fruits. Its main predators are rabbits can grow up to ap- as feral cats and dogs. How-
are unique to our island. low/green. Young owls do boa constrictors, humans. proximately 40 centimeters in ever, recently there seem to
These have evolved to per- not have white spots and are length over their short lifespan be more rabbit sightings in
fectly adapt to our desert cli- lighter in color. The nest of Conew (cottontail rabbit, of 3 years. Cottontail rabbits rural and wilderness areas
mate and make Aruba their the shoco is a burrow in the Sylvilagus floridanus nigro- reach reproductive maturi- and also in the National
home. At the same time, they ground. If the shoco cannot nuchalis) ty when they are just 2 to 3 Park. This could be linked to
are part of what makes Aruba find a burrow, it will dig one The Eastern Cottontail rab- months old. A female rabbit, a recent decline of the inva-
truly one of a kind. in soft soil. The shoco lays one bit (Sylvilagus floridanus) was called a doe, finds a suitable sive Boa population after the
or two eggs every other day probably brought over to nest spot under a shrub or long period of drought. As
Cascabel (rattlesnake, until all the eggs are laid – the island by Indian settlers rocks and lines it with fur. She the Conew can reproduce
Crotalus durissus unicolor) a shoco can lay up to four thousands of years ago as a can have an average of 3 to very quickly, a short break in
According to the Arikok Na- eggs. The first owlets hatch source of food. This rabbit, 4 litters per year averaging predation pressure can lead
tional Park, Aruba knows two after three to four weeks. The locally known as Conew, has 5 young each. The doe only to a fast increase of rabbits.
kinds of snakes, the Santan- shoco owl takes care of the spread all over the island and visits her young once or twice Sadly, the Boas are back on
ero and the Cascabel. The owlets for three months until has become part of our eco- a day to nurse her babies for the rise again with the truly
cascabel belongs to the rat- they leave the nest. Only a system. The very adaptable a period of 2 to 3 weeks. The wet rainy seasons we have
tlesnake family. The cascabel few owlets survive. Conew can live in a wide young reach independence recently experienced. This
is the only venomous snake The owls dig burrows in the variety of habitats, includ- at 4 to 5 weeks. could cause a new decline
from Aruba. It has a length of ground with low grass veg- ing Aruba’s xeric scrublands, The Aruban Conew is an en- in the Conew population that
65cm to 100cm, and is about etation. An owl can live up to where it typically grazes on dangered species and pro- was just starting to recover.
4 to 5cm wide. Its color var- nine years. Its defense mech- weeds and grasses. tected by Aruban law. The These are but a few of Aru-
ies from light brown to grey- anism is simply to fly away or The Aruban Conew has a Conew is thought to have ba’s beautiful inhabitant,
brown, and its underbelly is retreat to its burrows. They brownish grey color and a dis- drastically declined due to which we must all contribute
white. On its back there are eat mostly insects, mice and tinctive white belly. This white an increase in human activi- to protect. q
marks that are a little darker, lizards, and the main threats
in the shape of diamonds. to their survival are boas – an
Its reproduction is oviparous, invasive species introduced
meaning the offspring can by humans as pets – and hu-
hatch from their eggs just be- mans through destruction of
fore, during or immediately their habitat.
after laying. The cascabel
lives mainly in the Arikok Na- Prikichi (parakeet, Arat-
tional Park. It likes to live in inga pertinax)
dark places, and is thus found The Prikichi is the national bird
hidden among the limestone of Aruba. On Aruba, Bonaire,
rocks and under stones. As and Curaçao, parakeets can
a defense mechanism, the be found, but each of the
cascabel uses its rattle as three islands has a different
a warning, and it is not an breed. The Yellow-shouldered
aggressive animal. The cas- Amazon parakeet that we
cabel feeds on lizards, small have on Aruba is also found
mammals such as rats and along the coast of Venezu-
mice. It paralyzes or kills its ela. Unfortunately, there is
prey with its venom, which is interbreeding between the
injected through a bite. The breeds due to cage birds
enemies of the cascabel are from, for example, Curaçao
donkeys, goats, humans and being released on Aruba.
cars. Humans are the biggest The parakeet population on
enemy of the cascabel, as Aruba is in danger due to
they kill them and destroy extensive deforestation oc-
their habitat for urbanization. curring on the island because
of the growing population.
Shoco (burrowing owl, The prikichi weighs between
Athene cunicularia aru- 90 to 100 grams. It has a
bensis) greenish-brown head with
The shoco is a small bird some yellow around the eye.
which is seldom seen. They The back and wings of the
are active during the day but parakeet are dark green,
are more active later in the and the underside of the
day and at night for hunting. body is a lighter shade of
These owls have very good green. There is also a bit of
night vision and very good blue in the wings. The para-
hearing. keet’s beak is gray/black.
The shoco is the national Parakeets often use termite
symbol of Aruba. nests as breeding sites. Para-
The shoco has about 20cm keets are found in all natu-
of length, and the females ral environments (mondi) of
are slightly heavier than the the island. It defends itself by
males. They are light brown flying away and loud cries.
in color, with many white Parakeets eat seeds from the