We are now enjoying a Caribbean island located in the archipelago of The Greater Antilles known as Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico consists of over 143 islands, islets or cays but only a handful are inhabited (Puerto Rico, Culebra, Vieques, & Mona) Puerto Rico is the 3rd largest island in the United States behind the big island of Hawaii & Kodiak island of Alaska. We have been enjoying the sun and warm Caribbean breeze, some beaches and lots of relaxing pool time. We are near the El Yunque Rain Forest so we plan to go explore the jungle next week and while there we will keep our eyes peeled for the coqui tree frog and the Puerto Rican Amazon Parrot. Lexi’s report this week was on this beautiful parrot and she discovered that when the Spaniards came to this island back in the 16th century, it was estimated there were over a million of them in the jungles. Currently, this endangered parrot population has declined due to predators and has been reduced to just over 45 wild birds! Their main predators are the iguanas, humans (deforestation, decimation of habitat) and natural disasters (hurricanes). Conservation efforts to save this endangered species have been successful and the numbers are slowly increasing. The coqui tree frog does not suffer from an endangered status here and we have had the pleasure of hearing the male coqui tree frog serenade at night as it “sings” from dusk till dawn and are very numerous in the Fajardo coastal area and backs to the rain forest jungle.
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