Wildlife

Appearance and behaviour

Tattoos are small mammals with a leathery, armoured shell. Members of the ant-eater family, they grow to around 30 inches including the tail. They are nocturnal, solitary beings and excellent diggers. When threatened, tattoos often roll up into a tight ball, relying on their armoured shell to protect them.

Diet and habitat

Tattoos scavenge forest floors for ants and termites. They have poor eyesight but use their keen sense of smell to navigate and hunt for food.

They make their homes in burrows and hollow logs near creeks, streams and forests.

Appearance and behaviour

Mango snakes are night-time hunters. They grow to around 6.5ft and vary in colour from grey brown to golden brown. They have a painful but non-venomous bite.

Diet and habitat

Mangos live on a varied diet which includes birds, squirrels, lizards, rats and small mammals.

They spend their resting time curled up in the protection of trees.

Appearance and behaviour

They can live up to 10 years. A member of the rodent family, they use their tails to steer and balance.

Squirrels are most active in the morning and late afternoon to evening.

They were a major pest in Tobago during the height of the cocoa industry and locals were rewarded with bullets for shooting them in order to keep the population down.

Diet and habitat

Squirrels eat mostly nuts, seeds and fruit and very occasionally eggs or nestlings. They hide seeds for later, sometimes forgetting where, which helps to distribute plant species and promote growth.

They favour forested areas and build nests in trees or use hollows and woodpecker holes.

Appearance and behaviour

Agoutis are similar in appearance to guinea pigs but with longer legs – excellent for running from predators and hopping into the air, which they do when startled.

They can live for up to 20 years – exceptionally long for rodents. Like the red-tailed squirrel, they are excellent seed distributors, vital for maintaining varied plant growth.

Diet and habitat

Agoutis favour wooded environments, concealing themselves at night in hollow logs. They feed on fallen fruit, leaves and roots.

Appearance and behaviour

Green iguanas grow up to 4.9ft from head to tail. They are very good swimmers and agile tree and vine climbers who climb to the tops of trees to enjoy the heat of the sun.

Despite the name, they can vary greatly in colour. Green iguanas have a white photosensory ‘third eye’ (the Parietal eye) on top of their heads which is able to sense movement and changes in light and dark to help detect predators from above. The third eye also detects length of day and season to trigger mating behaviour.

The males are larger than the females and have a dewlap which is fanned out when threatened and during mating displays.

They carry a row of spines on their backs to help protect them from predators. Another protection feature is a tail that can snap off to allow speedy escape before regrowing.

Diet and habitat

Iguanas eat fruits and vegetables and favour environments where trees, vines and water are available.

Appearance and behaviour

Salipenters grow up to 4ft from head to tail. The young have a green/brown colouring between black bands which fade after 4 weeks to reveal adult colours of black and gold/yellow stripes. They have forked tongues and males also have jowls.

The tail can be easily broken and regrown to evade attack. Salipenters are solitary by nature, can live for up to 20 years and can be aggressive when provoked.

As part of the mating display, the male marches on the spot for the female before prodding her with his snout and scratching her sides. They shelter in hollow logs and lay their eggs in burrows and termite nests.

Diet and habitat

Salipenters adapt well to different landscapes and are found in forests as well as savannahs and coastal areas.

They have a wide and varied diet which includes berries, insects, crabs, frogs, lizards, snakes, eggs, mice and rats. They are adept at climbing trees to hunt for eggs.

Appearance and behaviour

They have no teeth visible when the mouth is closed which distinguishes them from other crocodile families. They also have a bony ridge above the eyes, giving the appearance of wearing spectacles.

Diet and habitat

Caiman colonise brackish and freshwater environments where a diet of fish, frogs and birds is abundant.

They make nests in grassland and forest habitats using leaves and twigs to form mounds where eggs can be deposited.

Opossum

Appearance and behaviour

Manicous are solitary in nature as well as nocturnal. Their lifespan is just two to four years and females often give birth to very large numbers of young. The offspring are born at an early stage and make their way to the marsupial pouch to nurse.

Manicous have a strong immune system showing partial or total immunity to snakes such as rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and other pit vipers.

When threatened, they mimic the appearance of a dead or sick animal, an involuntary response that includes barred teeth, a foul smell, foaming of the mouth and a stiff body which appears lifeless to the touch. Manicous will usually regain consciousness within 40 minutes to 4 hours.

Diet and habitat

They are great scavengers and omnivores, eating everything from grass, fruit, insects, mice, snakes, eggs and chickens. Manicous live in forests in abandoned burrows and trees where they can be kept dark and secluded.

Their varied diet, strong immune system and reproductive habits make them excellent survivors in challenging environments.