Satellite view of the Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) Photograph by USGS   Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   50 square miles (100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Washington DC Critical/Endangered

· Birds, Bats, and Blue Iguanas
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
· More Photos

Birds, Bats, and Blue Iguanas

The Cayman Islands are a small group of low-lying Caribbean islands that support dense evergreen thicket communities. If you visit this dry habitat you can find a number of interesting life forms. You may see birds pausing on their annual migrations or staying here during the winter months. You might see incredible climbing cactuses winding and twisting around tree trunks. The colorful flowers of these cactuses bloom only at night, the best time to attract the bats that pollinate them. And you might even spy a rare blue iguana zipping over the rocks.

Special Features

Evergreen thickets dominate the eastern sections of Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands. These thickets also grow on the north slope of Little Cayman and on higher ground on the tall island of Cayman Brac. All three of the islands are limestone bluffs that rose from the ocean floor 10 million years ago. None of the islands has ever been connected to each other or to adjacent landmasses.

	Mosquitoes have thrived on the Cayman Islands ever since they were accidentally introduced by Europeans. In one standard measure of mosquito density in the 1970s, a researcher recorded a total of 600 bites per minute on one arm. They are so prevalent that an intensive control program has been launched to reduce their numbers.

Wild Side

Visit these islands and you'll find tall red birch or gumbo-limbo trees growing alongside West Indian mahogany and Jamaican walnut trees. Among the many palms that grow here are silver thatch palms, the national tree of the Cayman Islands. These palms have wide, silver, salt-resistant fronds, or leaves, which were once widely used to make thatched roofs, shoes, and rope. You might see mangrove cuckoos perched under cover in dry brush. Despite their name, these shy birds prefer coastal and inland woodland habitat to mangroves. Look on the ground, and you might see the critically endangered Little Cayman Island rock iguana, a subspecies of the Cuban rock iguana, found only on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. These lizards feed on flowers, nectar, and fruit, and can grow up to 5 feet (1.5 m) long. And male Little Cayman Island rock iguanas are a beautiful iridescent powder blue. Grand Cayman parrots fly noisily overhead, displaying their brilliant green plumage. The shy and quiet Cayman Brac parrot, found only on rugged Cayman Brac, has the smallest range of any Amazon parrot. This species was once found on Little Cayman, but that population was eliminated by a fierce storm in 1932.

Cause for Concern

The demand for timber and fuel means that very little native timber remains. Development for tourism has also led to habitat loss. Introduced animals such as dogs, cats, and rats pose a serious threat to native reptiles and birds. Little Cayman Island rock iguanas are also at risk from cars. Other concerns include overgrazing and invasive plants, most notably the logwood tree.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.