The Caribbean is made up of more than 7,000 islands. Each offers its own private paradise and unique wildlife. From monkeys to opossums, armadillos to tamanduas, here’s your guide on animals to look out for during your cruise to the Caribbean.
Common Opossum
Common Name: Common Opossum
Scientific Name: Didelphis Marupialis
Type: Marsupial
Diet: Omnivore
Size: Up to 20 inches
Weight: 3 pounds
The common opossum is a marsupial species living from the northeast of Mexico to Bolivia, including Trinidad and Tobago. It is found in tropical and subtropical forests. The common opossum utilises a wide range of nest sites including tree hollows and burrows, if nothing else is suitable.
Similar in size to a house cat, the common opossum holds the ability to adapt to environmental changes. Their teeth allow them to eat many different types of food, which is mostly obtained on the ground. They can eat insects, small vertebrates, snakes, birds, small mammals, fruits, vegetables, nectar and also carrion.
Howler Monkeys
Common Name: Howler Monkey
Scientific Name: Alouatta
Type: Mammal
Diet: Omnivore
Size: Body and tail - up to 36 inches
Weight: Up to 22 pounds
The most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics, howler monkeys live in groups of 6 to 15, with 1 to 3 adults and multiple females. As their name suggests, vocal communication forms an integral part of their social behaviour and they are widely considered to be the loudest land animals. The function of howling is thought to relate to territory protection.
Howler monkeys' noses are very keen - they can smell food up to 2 kilometres away. Their diets consist mainly of top canopy leaves together with fruits, buds, flowers and nuts.
Nine-Banded Armadillo
Common Name: Nine-Banded Armadillo
Scientific Name: Dasypus Novemcinctus
Type: Mammal
Diet: Insectivore
Size: Up to 23 inches
Weight: Up to 14 pounds
The nine-banded armadillo is a solitary, mainly nocturnal animal, found in many kinds of habitats, from mature and secondary rainforests to grassland and dry scrub. It is generally an insectivore and forages for meals by thrusting its snout into loose soil and leaf litter to dig up grubs, beetles, ants, termites, grasshoppers, millipedes, centipedes, arachnids, worms and other terrestrial invertebrates.
Nine-banded armadillos are solitary, largely nocturnal animals that come out to forage around dusk. They’re extensive burrows, sometimes maintaining up to 12 burrows on their range.
Red Brocket
Common Name: Red Brocket
Scientific Name: Mazama Americana
Type: Mammal
Diet: Omnivore
Size: Up to 31 inches tall and 57 inches long
Weight: Up to 106 pounds
Red brockets, a species of brocket deer, originated in the forests of South America. It occurs on the Caribbean island of Trinidad and, up until very recently, on the island of Tobago until it was extirpated. Red brockets are generally solitary animals, staying in dense jungles where it browses vegetation, preferring fruit and seeds when available.
Red brockets are the largest of the brockets and are reddish-brown in colour, with lighter grey/brown heads and necks and partially black legs. Only the adult male has antlers and these are small and spiky.
Southern Tamandua
Common Name: Southern Tamandua
Scientific Name: Tamandua Tetradactyla
Type: Mammal
Diet: Insectivore
Size: Up to 26 inches
Weight: Up to 18.5 pounds
The southern tamandua is a species of anteater from South America and the island of Trinidad. It is a solitary animal found in many habitats including tropical rainforests, savanna and thorn scrub.
It seems to be most common in habitats near streams and rivers, presumably because its prey is more common in these areas. It feeds on ants, termites and bees. The southern tamandua is mainly nocturnal and rests in hollow tree trunks or in the burrows of other animals, such as armadillos.
