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                                                                                                           local Monday 27 May 2024

            Unique fauna of Aruba



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