Tobago / Special Interests / Eco/Nature

Tobago is also home to an interesting variety of wildlife, much more than most Caribbean islands, including, for instance, over a dozen types of bats, many lizards, among them the mammoth iguana, many species of frogs and tree frogs, untold numbers of butterflies and several snakes – nothing poisonous though. There is also the rather odd looking Agouti, which is not unlike a guinea pig with longer legs and can be found in the forest reserve, as can manicous (opossum) and tattoo (armadillo).

Hillsborough Dam, c/o Water and Sewerage Authority - In addition to being a good spot for birding, Hillsborough Dam is also home to a number of the crocodile-like caymans. These can also be found in some of the islands rivers and even in the lakes on the Tobago Plantations Golf Course – one there is over 6ft long. Permission is required to visit the dam and in recent years this has become severly restricted, with access for local guides and tours currently on hold.  

Turtle Watching

Turtle watching is another of Tobago’s great natural attractions, and its waters are home to three species of turtle, the green, hawksbill and the massive leatherback, all of which are on the endangered list. The turtle nesting season runs from March to August, during which time turtles come ashore at night lay their eggs.

The most awesome sight, due to the sheer size of the animal, is the nesting of the leatherback turtle, which will not enter an area where there are lights or any hint of noise. The largest sea turtle in the world, the leatherback is called so because it has no shell, instead its back is covered in a thick leathery carapace. These creatures can reach the size of a small car and weigh on average 800-1000lbs but can reach as much as 1800 – 2000 lbs and in excess of twelve feet from top to bottom, with a flipper span of up to ten feet. A female turtle will lay between 80-120 eggs at a time, and will do so as many as five times during the nesting season, with gaps of about 10-15 days between each nesting. Hatchlings usually emerge from their sandy nests between 60-65 days of being laid.

The principal nesting beaches for the Leatherbacks are Stonehaven Bay, Turtle Beach and Castara Beach. During the nesting season SOS Tobago patrol the beaches, to help protect the turtles from poachers.

See separate section on Tobago Birdwatching.

Non-profit organisations and Government links:

Save our Sea Turtles, Tobago (SOS Tobago), 125 Black Rock Main Road, Black Rock, Tobago, t 290 3797 | info@sos-tobago.org | www.SOS-Tobago.org | For information on turtles, turtle laws and research.

Trinidad & Tobago Field Naturalist’s Club, t 624 8017 | ttfnc@wow.net | http://ttfnc.org/ | Founded in 1891 for the study of the island’s natural history.

Contributors: James Henderson (editor)