Trinidad / Special Interests / Eco/Nature

Most visitors to Trinidad never fully appreciate the cornucopia of wildlife and fauna secreted away in its hills, valleys and wetland. Instead, the Trini experience tends to be heavily urban biased: airport, fast highway transfer to Port of Spain, a stolen afternoon at Maracas Bay if you’re lucky amid the hurly burly of life in the capital, then back down the Roosevelt-Churchill Highway to Piarco a short while later. An observant few may notice the chatter of parrots heading to roost in late afternoon in the more sylvan parts of Maraval or St Ann’s, a hint of exotica beyond the city limits awaiting discovery, but linger longer in the Land of the Hummingbird and the true glory of its wildlife quickly becomes apparent.

Trinidad’s range of habitat from montane rainforest and savannah plains to river valleys, coastline and swamplands is extensive for a relatively small island and its South American ecology has given rise to a broad church of interest for any budding zoologist: the species base figures are staggering in their own right - 430 avifauna, 620 butterflies, 51 mammals (plus 57 bats), 70 reptiles, 370 trees and 2,500 flowering shrubs. Hunting for the pot is still a popular pastime in country areas with small forest mammals like the herbivorous agouti, its similar relative the paca, the marsupial opossum, quenk (a wild hog), and brocket deer, all regular quarry.

That endearing creature of the coastal shallows, estuary and wetlands, the manatee or sea cow, is endangered all over the region through human persecution and loss of habitat and is confined to small pockets of isolated territory. Only around 30 manatees survive in the protected Nariva Swamp inland from Manzanilla in the east, alongside red howler and capuchin monkeys, spectacled caiman and the giant anaconda snake. It’s also the last refuge of the striking blue and yellow macaw while the more accessible Caroni Swamp and Bird Sanctuary is renowned for its daily flight of scarlet ibis coming in to roost at dusk.

Indeed, Trinidad is an absolute mecca for the avid birdwatcher and the Asa Wright Nature Centre the holy grail - 250 of the 430 species are said to breed in the island and on a good day it’s reckoned you can see 150 in and around the estate at Asa Wright in the Arima valley, including the remarkable cave dwelling oilbirds, the world’s only nocturnal fruit eating species. They’ll fly up to 80 miles using sonar on their nightly forays for palm or camphor fruit with eight colonies identified countrywide - when Sir David Attenborough turns up to make a TV programme you know they’re pretty special. Perhaps the most sought after mammal, in every respect, is that shy, retiring small cat, the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), denizen of the deep forest and prized for its distinctive spotted and striped pelt. Nocturnal and diurnal, they’re a ground feeding carnivore, eating rodents, birds, snakes and lizards but are rarely seen (guides who’ve spent years in the woods will see footprints but never the animal itself). Protection and education in the Northern Range is afforded by the Paria Springs Ocelot Conservation Group, coordinated by Courteney Rooks.

The nine-bandied armadillo is hunted as ‘wild meat’, as is the spiky backed green iguana which can grow to a surprising size if left to its own devices in the canopy. There are also 47 varieties of snake, only four of which should concern the average traveller - the venomous fer-de-lance, pointed head, orange and brown triangular markings, up to nine feet long, the bushmaster or mapepire, dark brown and orange diamonds within, can grow even heftier and two species of smaller coral snake, black, encircled with red and white rings. Avoid these if spotted. The boa constrictor and anaconda which can stretch to a whopping thirty feet are harmless unless you fall asleep next to one. So avoid that unlikely scenario too.

The best locations for Nature and Wildlife in Trinidad are:

Asa Wright Nature Centre, Arima Valley - Former coffee and citrus estate metamorphosed into one of the best birding spots on the planet. Residential research station, excellent informative guided tours, nature trails and educational centre.

Caroni Swamp and Bird Sanctuary - Protected area of wetland not far from the capital, well worth a late afternoon boat trip (apply the insect repellent).

Nariva Swamp & Bush Bush Wildlife Sanctuary - In the east is a more dramatic landscape, pristine rainforest and mangrove with an even greater variety of wildlife and it’s possible to kayak through certain areas (with a well versed guide in attendance of course).

Northern Range Mountains - Numerous trails, waterfalls and caving, fascinating wildlife in a wilderness environment, knowledgeable guide essential.

Grande Riviere - Trinidad’s only true beach resort location and, more significantly, the second most important nesting ground in the world of the giant leatherback turtle; a magical place, wild beachscape, best experienced from the Mt Plaisir Estate Hotel.

The Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust - Attractive lakeland location within the Petrotrin oil refinery grounds in the south, wide range of ducks and waterbirds and a remarkable ibis breeding project. Professional guides and excellent learning centre on site.

Matura Forest Reserve - Nature trails, waterfalls and birdlife in the north east, habitat of the only endemic, the remarkable turkey like Trinidad Piping Guan which is critically endangered with only about 200 remaining; arboreal and sedentary, the range of the “Pawi” is currently restricted to about 160 sq kilometres of seasonal evergreen and montane forest, a small long term group resident at Grande Riviere are surprisingly tolerant of human interference and habitat modification.

Nature tours available through the following operators:

The Travel Centre - extensive countrywide nature-centric tours with informed guides.

Caribbean Discovery Tours - specialist company headed by Stephen Broadbridge, experienced in Nariva and Northern Range.

Avifauna Tours, - Roger Neckles.

Paria Springs Tours

Non-profit organisations and Government links:

Asa Wright Nature Centre, Arima Valley, t 667 4655 |  ww.asawright.org

The Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust, t 628 4145 | www.petrotrin.com/WildFowlWeb