Endangered Animals in Puerto Rico

The sunset over Patillas, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is home to a barrage of interesting attractions, from sandy beaches to the cosmopolitan city of San Juan. With its tropical climate and florid ecosystem, Puerto Rico is also home to a number of endemic animal species, many of which are currently endangered, owing to climate change that is leading to a loss of habitat for many of these creatures.

Birds

Puerto Rico is home to a number of endangered birds. One of the most unique is the Puerto Rican parrot, which is the only bird endemic to Puerto Rico that belongs to the Amazona Neotroprical genus. Another is the plain pigeon, a bird that is also found in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica. Other endangered birds that can be found in Puerto Rico include the yellow-shouldered black bird, white-necked crow, white-crowned pigeon, West Indian whistling duck, Trindade petrel, sooty shearwater, Roseate tern, Ridgeway's hawk, red-crowned parrot, Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk, Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk, least tern and the Hispaniolan Amazon.

Amphibians

Puerto Rico is home to a number of exotic frog and toad specimens, many of which are now endangered, owing to a threatened loss of habitat. The Puerto Rican Crested Toad, for instance, can only be found in Puerto Rico. It is the island's sole native frog species. Its population has declined drastically in recent years, and is estimated that less than 250 mature species currently exist. Other endangered amphibians to be found in Puerto Rico include Cook's robber frog, Wightman's robber frog, Villalba robber frog, Richmond's robber frog, Puerto Rican wetland frog, Puerto Rican robber frog, mona coqui, Karl's robber frog, interior robber frog, Hedrick's robber frog and the dwarf coqui.

Fish

Given its island status, many endangered species of fish can be found in Puerto Rican waters. One of them is the Hammerhead shark, which is named for the strange, hammer-like shape of its head. These sharks are endangered owing to the fact that their fins are expensive delicacies, which leads to overfishing. The yellowfin grouper is also in danger of extinction owing to overfishing. In addition, rainbow parrotfish are endangered owing to removal of mangroves in certain areas. Additional endangered fish species that can be found around Puerto Rico include the queen triggerfish, red grouper, spotted eagle ray, whale shark, black rockfish, donkey fish and cubera snapper.

References

• Earth's Endangered Creatures: Endangered Species in Puerto Rico