Shrubs and trunks full of shells

Anyone who walks in the mondi of Jan Thiel on Curaçao during the dry season, and other locations as well, can regularly come across a strange phenomenon; trees, grasses and shrubs that are completely covered with the white Kokolishi di kalakuna (Cerion uva).

Forests on the semi-arid ABC islands (4) – ‘Sexy’ forest: the Amazon

There is no tropical rainforest in the world as famous as the Amazon rainforest, an area of approximately 7 million square kilometres where more than half of all the rainforest in the world is located. This tropical jungle is spread over nine different countries.

Forests on the semi-arid ABC islands (3) – Forests and climate

Forests worldwide have more than just the function of a habitat (place to live) for plants and animals. The large numbers of trees and other plants in forests together provide a large part of the oxygen that humans and other animals so desperately need to survive.

Forests on the semi-arid ABC islands (2) – Wet forests

The most striking ‘wet’ forests in the world, but still somewhat the ‘underdogs’ of the forests as a whole, are the mangrove forests, the only forests that can grow and flourish in and near salt water.
Mangrove forests were the neglected child, forgotten by many despite major information campaigns by nature organisations over the years.

The shiny nest robber

Yellow Orioles (Icterus nigrogularis curasoensis) have been known to be regular victims of the invasive Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis).

Forests on the semi-arid ABC islands (1) – The forest called ‘Mondi’

The ABC-islands also have forests, although they are somewhat different from the forests we have in mind when we think of the large areas of forests in, for example, Germany, the United States and the Amazon region in South America.

A rocky warning

On March 2, 2012, through a facebook post, I happened upon a blog that aims to ‘examine efforts to balance human affairs with the planet’s limits’.

World Wildlife Day 2025

With a world investing more and more in egos and deep pockets of a few, it is essential that we as a people fight for the quality of the daily habitat we all live in, including wildlife. This is not only the job of just a few individuals or organisations, it is the job of us all as users of these habitats. So what will you do in the close future to help protect wildlife?

Blue-legged hermit crabs

There are several species of hermit crabs and one of them is the blue-legged hermit crab, an animal that can be found in shallow water in various parts of the Caribbean Sea and therefore also on our island.

Island endemics – Anolis lineatus

The Tree Anole or Kaku is a frequently seen guest on beaches, in gardens and of course in the wild areas of both Aruba and Curaçao. It is an endemic species for these two islands, a species only occurring here and nowhere else.

Cookieconsent met Real Cookie Banner