Little Tobago

For the island in the British Virgin Islands, see Little Tobago, British Virgin Islands.

Coordinates: 11°18′N 60°31′W / 11.300°N 60.517°W / 11.300; -60.517

Looking across to St. Giles Island from Little Tobago
Goat Island (30)
Goat Island (10)
Goat Island (20)
Little Tobago
Red-billed tropicbird nest on Little Tobago.

Little Tobago (or Bird of Paradise Island) is a small island off the northeastern coast of Tobago, and part of the republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The island is about 1 square kilometre in area and is located at 11° 18' N and 60° 31' W, approximately 2.4 kilometres (1.5 miles) from Speyside. The highest point on the island is approximately 37 metres (121 ft) above sea level.

The island supports dry forest. It is an important breeding site for seabirds such as red-billed tropicbird, Audubon's shearwater, brown booby, brown noddy, sooty and bridled terns. A few pairs of white-tailed tropicbirds are also nesting here.

Little Tobago is also a good site from which to see birds which breed on neighbouring small islands, including red-footed booby and magnificent frigatebird. The latter species is frequently seen harassing the tropicbirds, boobies and terns.

The sea between Tobago and Little Tobago is shallow, and glass-bottomed boats enable the attractive corals and brightly coloured tropical fish to be seen on the crossing. It is a popular area for snorkeling and diving, especially on Angel Reef in front of Goat Island.


History

In 1909 Sir William Ingram introduced the greater bird of paradise (Paradisaea apoda) to the island in an attempt to save the species from overhunting for the plume trade in its native New Guinea. About 45 juvenile birds were introduced to the island. After Ingram's death in 1924 his heirs deeded the island to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago as a wildlife sanctuary. The birds survived on the island until at least 1958 when they were filmed by a National Geographic crew. There are no reliable records after 1963 when Hurricane Flora hit the island and the population is presumed to be extinct.


View of Little Tobago from Blue Waters Inn, Speyside, Trinidad and Tobago, Tobago, with Goat Island nearer on the right.

See also

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.