Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Parque Nacional Jaragua (
Click here
)
, coming ashore at night to lay their eggs on sandy
beaches.
Want to put a name to that frog or gecko? Consult
Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies,
by Robert
Henderson and Albert Schwartz.
Reptiles & Amphibians
Reptiles were Hispaniola's most successful vertebrate colonists. You can expect to see lots
of lizards (geckos in particular), but also keep your eye out for snakes, turtles and even the
American crocodile (or caiman), found in sizable numbers in the brackish cross-border
Lago Enriquillo - on the Haiti side it's Lac Azueï. There is also a Hispaniolan boa, its
numbers reduced by mongoose predation. At opposite ends of the spectrum are the
Jaragua lizard, which is the world's smallest terrestrial vertebrate (adults measure only
2.8cm), and the massive 10kg rhinoceros iguana. Frogs are the most numerous amphibi-
ans.
