Newsletter of the CARMABI foundation

5th Year number 4 October-December 2007
Biná
Newsletter of the CARMABI foundation
Cacti and bats of
Curaçao!
Page 3
Sponsoring
Page 7
New! Annual
memberships
Christoffelpark
Page 10
Table of contents
Editors note...
2
CARMABI news...
3
Christoffel corner...
10
- The importance of columnar
cacti to Curaçao’s culture and
nature... 3
- The importance of bats to
Curaçao...
5
- Sponsors...
7
- Upgrading dorms at CARMABI...9
- Saba Bank mollusc research... 9
- New! Annual membership
Christoffelpark..
10
- Service quality control in
Christoffelpark...
11
- A colorful and green Christmas
and lush beginning of 2008... 12
Particulars for this edition:
Photography:
Mrs. M. da Costa Gomez
Mr. L. Pors
Mrs. Dr. S. Petit
Mr. Peter v/d Wolf
Banco di Caribe
Design:
Mrs. M. da Costa Gomez
Editors:
Ing. M. da Costa Gomez
Drs. L. Pors
Dr. A. Debrot
Editors note
Dear nature lovers,
First of all, the entire CARMABI staff and personnel would like
to wish you a nature rich new year. We wish you all the best and
of course hope that you will have a 2008 with delightful wildlife
experiences.
We are ready for the new year, with all the challenges it will bring for
us, but first we want to close 2007 appropriately by offering you an
overview of the latest happenings. This will of course be the last 2007
newsletter.
Read the articles by Dr. Sophie Petit about the cacti and bats of our
island and their importance to its ecology. Take a look at the sponsors
who make sure that our organisation can go on with its many projects.
Several changes can be seen on the CARMABI premises at Picadera
Bay, of which the upgrading of the student dorms is one.
The Christoffelpark is launching a new product, the new annual
membership for citizens of the island. Members can enjoy admission
to the park for a very modest price. Of course we need to know
about the quality of the services we provide to our visitors so as to
keep improving them. You can read about our latest survey in this
newsletter.
Many of our readers asked about details of the CARMABI Clear
Water Challenge 2007, which took place in November. To offer all of
you an overview of everything that has happened before, during and
after the Challenge we made a special edition of the newsletter with
pictures, quotes and of course an overview, as complete as possible,
of all the people who sponsored this major event. You will receive this
extra edition together with this newsletter.
We are looking forward to 2008 and we hope you are too! We hope
you enjoy this newsletter with its special edition as much as we do.
Enjoy and we will meet you again in
our next newsletter!
Cover Photo:
Leptotila verreauxi (White-tipped
Dove) after a cold rain shower.
Photo by: L. Pors
2
The editors.
CARMABI news
The importance of columnar cacti to Curaçao’s culture and nature!
By: Dr. Sophie Petit, University of South Australia and CARMABI
Biology of the cacti:
Cacti occur mainly on the
American continent. Curaçao
has three species of columnar
cacti: datu (Stenocereus
griseus), kadushi (Subpilocereus
repandus) and kadushi di pushi
(Pilosocereus lanuginosus). All
three species produce flowers,
each of which opens for only one
night, during the dry season, when
most other native plants appears
dry and even dead. They are thus
extremely important to Curaçao’s
native wildlife because they
provide them with vital resources.
A lot of research has been done
on datu and kadushi, which
are the most abundant of the
three species. They are selfincompatible, which means that
the female part of each flower
must be pollinated with pollen
coming from another plant.
Only animals can perform this
service. In fact, nectar-feeding
bats are responsible for all of
the pollination of datu and 90%
of the pollination of kadushi.
Kadushi flowers sometimes stay
open for a few hours after sunrise
and may be visited by birds such
as hummingbirds. Without the
bats, however, there would be
very few cactus fruits and seeds,
and the cacti could not reproduce
sexually.
Cacti grow very slowly. The very
large cacti are certainly several
hundred years old. They are
particularly important to wildlife
because they start producing
flowers earlier in the season than
small cacti, and make the link
between seasons of abundance,
filling gaps when few resources
are available. The three species
have different behaviors when
it rains: datu stops flowering,
kadushi continues to flower, and
kadushi di pushi start flowering
very rapidly. So at all times of the
year, large cacti take care of our
wildlife.
Importance of columnar cacti to
nature:
Cacti provide fruits and flowers
to a range of animals including
many species of birds, two
species of bats, iguanas, and
many species of insects such as
bees. They are able to survive in
the natural environment without
artificial watering, and datu and
kadushi produce most of their
flowers and fruits during the dry
season, when very few other
resources are available for our
wildlife. The flowers contain
large amounts of nectar and the
fruits are rich in water. Our
precious nectar-feeding bats,
Leptonycteris curasoae curasoae
(which of course gets its name
from Curaçao) and Glossophaga
longirostris elongata (also
a Curaçao native) are very
important in the pollination of
many significant Curaçao plants,
and they depend on columnar
cacti for their survival. The
very large majority of their diet
consists of cactus nectar, pollen,
and fruits when they can get them.
Without the cacti these bats could
not survive on Curaçao.
The branches of the cacti are also
filled with water, which is used
by several animals including
prikichi and the white-tailed
deer. Within the branches, birds
make their nests, iguanas rest, and
3
“Sophie Petit during her presentation at
CARMABI last August 15th”
“A fruit of the Kadushi di pushi (Pilocereus lanuginosus), completely devoured by
birds.”
“Several moth species also visit the cacti
flowers at night to join in the nectar
“festivities”. They do not play a major role
in the pollination of the flowers however. ”
CARMABI news
other animals find some respite.
Birds perch on their branches.
For example the warawara often
examines the surroundings by
perching on cacti.
The shade of the cacti is very
important to animals, but also
to other plant species. Cacti
often act as “nurse plants” in
hot climates, meaning that their
shade, and sometimes nutrients
associated with their presence,
help seedlings of other species to
become established, which they
may not be able to do when the
soil is hot or poor. The regular
dropping of cactus branches
insures that soil will be produced,
and soil is a rare commodity on
Curaçao.
“This Kadushi (Subpilocereus repandus) is
probably hundreds of years old.”
“Leptonycteris curasoae curasoae, loveably
called lepto’s at CARMABI, females with
young. The young clutch on their mothers
bellies and fly along when she searches for
nectar in the evening. The Lepto’s are the
largerst nectar eating species on the island.
1200 individuals approximately live on our
island. ”
On the next page you can read an article by Dr. Petit about the
importance of bats for the Curaçaoan
ecology.
Cultural significance of cacti:
Curaçaoans’ ancestors enjoyed the
delicious dense and breezy shade
of columnar cacti, and some of
us enjoy it still today, if only for
parking our car. A few people
still make the famous kadushi
soup, renowned to give plenty
of energy to those who eat it.
But the grandparents and greatgrandparents of Curaçaoans also
used cacti for many other things:
door and window frames, rope,
beds, boxes, torches, utensils,
shampoo, and medicines were
made with kadushi; syrup was
made with datu fruits; hedges
made of datu can still be seen in
some places and are determining
elements of the typical kunuku
landscape (Rojer-Beenhakker
1990), and datu also had
numerous medicinal uses (see
“Green remedies and golden
customs of our ancestors”, by
D. Veeris, Triangel Publicaties,
1999). Cacti were of vital
importance to Curaçaoans and the
few large cacti that remain today
were the very cacti that were
4
used and appreciated by the great
great-grandparents of today’s
Curaçaoans.
Conservation issues:
Unfortunately, there is no legal
protection currently for cacti.
Urban development projects
sometimes leave a few cacti
standing, but the people who
purchase the blocks of land then
cut down the cacti. Goats eat the
seedlings, and birds eat the fruits
before they are ripe, thus causing
a major crisis in the recruitment
of young cacti. An unknown
disease has been affecting
kadushi, and the prikichi put a lot
of pressure on the trees by grazing
the branches. Because they are
keepers of Curaçao’s biodiversity,
cacti must not disappear. Where
they are eliminated, biodiversity
crashes. This biodiversity is
important not only for cultural
and ecological reasons, but also
financial ones via tourism and the
health of ecosystems. Large areas
of cacti have disappeared in the
last 20 years.
What can we do?
On lease agreements for rental
properties, vegetation clearance
should not be permitted. Also,
the protection of significant
vegetation should be included
in the legislation. An education
campaign for the people of
Curaçao should show that
columnar cacti are the jewels of
Curaçao; they gave life to our
ancestors and to our wildlife.
They are extremely slow growing
and should be preserved at all
costs, including in urban gardens.
One established cactus is very
precious and will never require
watering. Please pass the word:
columnar cacti are very important
to Curaçao!
CARMABI news
The importance of bats to Curaçao!
Biology of the bats:
Eight species of bats occur
on Curaçao. All are from the
sub-order Microchiroptera;
flying foxes do not occur on
the American continent. The
bats of Curaçao belong to three
ecological groups: insectivorous
bats, nectar-feeding bats, and
one species of fishing bat. Most
bats live in caves and crevices,
although some may also use
tree roosts. In addition, two
species have been observed in
buildings on the island; others
may occasionally use buildings
as well. Sick bats, like any other
sick wild animal, should not be
handled, but bats do not attack
people. They forage at night
using their vision, smell, and a
wonderful sonar system called
echolocation. We cannot hear
the sounds they make because
the range of frequencies is not
audible to humans; the sounds are
reflected on surfaces (obstacles,
prey such as mosquitoes); bats
hear them and can find their way
even in total darkness.
Our bats have only one young
(pup) per year; because they are
mammals, mothers feed their
pups milk until the young are old
enough to forage on their own.
Family ties may remain strong
even after the young become
independent. Most species are
very sensitive to disturbance, and
they consist of only a few dozen
or a few hundred individuals on
the island. Bats are also affected
by pollution and the removal of
vegetation.
Importance of bats to Curaçao:
Insectivorous bats include
Mormoops megalophylla
intermedia (the ghost-faced bat),
Natalus tumidirostris (the funnel-
eared bat), Molossus molossus
pygmaeus (the velvety free-tailed
bat or Pallas’s mastiff bat), Myotis
nesopolus nesopolus (Curaçao
Myotis), and Pteronotus davyii
(the naked-back bat). None of
the populations is larger than
a few hundred individuals, yet
these insectivorous bats are very
important to Curaçao. They
capture insect pests such as flies,
mosquitoes, and certain moths
that are agricultural pests. Certain
bat species can capture their
own weight in insects each night
and eat several hundred small
insects in one hour. Although
the heaviest of those bats weighs
less than 30 g, each bat still
represents the elimination of a
significant number of pests. The
species most likely to be found
in a building is Molossus; one
specimen was hit by a car in 2007,
the only one seen in years. If
a roost is found, please contact
CARMABI; the bat’s special
feature is to have a tail.
Curaçao has two species of
nectar-feeding bats, belonging
to the group of leaf-nosed
bats: Glossophaga longirostris
elongata (long-tongued bat) and
Leptonycteris curasoae curasoae
(long-nosed bat), which gets its
name from the island. These bats
also consume ripe fruits when
they are available and disperse the
seeds when the seeds are small
enough to be ingested. Their
role in the pollination of plants
of significance, such as datu and
kadushi, but also the calabash
tree and agaves, among others,
make them vital contributors to
biodiversity on Curaçao. By
allowing the formation of fruits on
datu and kadushi, the bats make
accessible resources that many
animals use during the dry season.
5
“The Ghost-faced bat (Mormoops
megalophylla intermedia).”
“The Funnel-eared bat (Natalus
tumidirostris).”
“The Velvety free-tailed bat (Molossus
molossus).”
CARMABI news
Only Glossophaga is found in
buildings. Leptonycteris has strict
hot cave requirements and is also
very shy.
“The Naked-back bat (Pteronotus davyii).”
The fishing bat, Noctilio leporinus
(greater bulldog bat), is the largest
on the island, weighing about
60 g. Its feeding techniques
are remarkable and well worth
observing: it captures small fish
at the surface of the water using
echolocation; it also eats insects in
flight and other terrestrial animals
like small crabs and scorpions.
The bat’s ecological functions
include the creation of a habitat
for other creatures in its coastal
roosts.
Artibeus jamaicensis, a fruiteating bat, has not been seen since
1947 on Curaçao. It is likely that
the two specimens captured were
vagrant and that the species no
longer occurs on the island.
“The Long-tongued bat (Glossophaga
longirostris elongata).”
“The Greater bulldog bat (Noctilio
leporinus).”
6
Conservation issues:
Bats constitute the largest native
group of mammals by number
of species for Curaçao, but their
distribution and numbers have
been declining over the last
century. Based on their physical
characteristics, several subspecies
have been determined to be
endemic to Curaçao (they occur
only here). We are left with a
few hundred individuals for the
most abundant species; such
low numbers are very alarming
and the risk of extinction is not
only real, but high. Bats are
extremely sensitive to pesticides
and other forms of pollution,
so that contaminated insects or
other food sources may poison
them. Roost disturbance is also
likely to be a factor affecting the
survival of bats; bats have tiny
stores of energy and disturbances
not only stress them out but also
deplete their energy. Critically,
the removal of native vegetation is
very detrimental to bats. Not only
are tree roosts destroyed, but the
habitat in which specific insects
live is destroyed as well. Finally,
the destruction of cacti affects not
only the general biodiversity of
Curaçao, but also Glossophaga
and Leptonycteris, bats that
depend on the nectar of cactus
flowers for survival.
What can we do?
If bats must be removed from a
building, it is necessary to give
them the opportunity to leave
during the night. Blocking all bat
entrances should be done at night,
when all bats are gone, and at a
time when pups are not present.
Information is available at: http://
batcall.csu.edu.au/abs/absmain.
htm and http://www.batcon.
org/home/index.asp?idPage=51&
idSubPage=47; the eviction may
take a little patience. Exclusion
should use a one-way device that
allows the bats to leave but not
to re-enter. Other methods are
not ethical and will cause stress
and pain to the bats, and are also
likely to kill many. It has been
reported that wind chimes placed
at night in the buildings may
encourage the bats to find another
place to live. It is important
to promote the retention of the
native vegetation of Curaçao and
to minimise disturbance to caves
and other roosting sites. Bats
are very precious to Curaçao and
responsible for many good deeds,
from which we benefit. Public
education about bats is everyone’s
responsibility; when you know,
pass it on. The legal protection of
bats should also be supported.
Students interested in making
a presentation about the bats
of Curaçao can dowload
informationsheets in Dutch from
our website www.carmabi.org.
CARMABI news
Sponsors
Banco di Caribe sponsors 15.000 guilders a year for three years!
We were ecstatic when we
received the news that Banco
di Caribe will sponsor both the
educational department and
Christoffelpark for the coming
three years. Banco di Caribe will
sponsor the coming three years
(including 2007) with 15.000
guilders a year.
The first 15.000 guilders will
be used for the implementation
of the education program in the
Kabouterbos which, as is well
known, had to be removed from
our annual educational program
as a free program for schools.
Classes still had the opportunity
to come, but had to pay for the
transportation and guide costs.
Now, with the help of Banco
di Caribe, 25 to 40 classes can
participate in the program free of
charge.
The second part of the sponsoring
will be used to develop 5 new
educational information sheets
in Dutch and Papiamentu with
different themes such as: whales
and dolphins, seashells on the
beaches of Curaçao, the Curaçao
parakeet, birds of prey and
environmental contamination on.
The educational department of
CARMABi has a long tradition of
these sheets in which we supply
ample information and pictures
about the themes, in a format that
is easily accessible for children
ages 9 and up.
The information sheets, are
downloadable from our website
and will also be available at
Banco di Caribe. Both students
and teachers use the sheets to
prepare presentations, talks,
lessons and lesson plans.
The third part of the sponsoring
is destined to be used for the
development of an environmental
friendly playground in the
Christoffelpark, to make the park
more family friendly.
The sponsoring of the coming
two years will also be used in that
order, 2/3d for education and 1/3
for the Christoffelpark.
We sincerely thank Banco di
Caribe for this very impressive
contribution to our work.
“Official presentation of the cheque and
press conference at Banco di Caribe. From
left to right: Mrs. Marielle Lebacks and Mr.
Percy Virginia of BdC, Mr. Norbert Chaclin,
chairman of the Carmabi board, mrs.
Michelle da Costa Gomez and Mrs. Karin
van Batenburg of Carmabi.”
Official opening of the presentation room at CARMABI in presence of sole sponsor
S.E.L. Maduro & Sons (Curaçao) N.V.
7
CARMABI news
Sponsors... continued
Official presentation of a Nafl.25.000 cheque from
Stichting Sinkuentenario ABN AMRO Trust
“Members of the CARMABI board receive the cheque
from Stichting Sinkuentenario. Mr. Renfred Rojer, member of the island council was present to show his support
for non-governmental funding of projects that are of
interest to the community.”
“Representatives from Stichting Sinkuentario attended
a presentation about the marine environment after
which they received a plaque honoring their support.
This plaque will be displayed in the Marine Park Visitor
Center.”
Official presentation of mooring buoy sponsoring to the Curaçao Marine Park by
DVB Bank America
“Maureen Kuenen receives one of the buoys from a representative of the DVB bank.”
8
CARMABI news
Upgrading dorms at CARMABI!
For many years to come,
scientists and students can now
again use the lodging facilities
at the CARMABI offices at
Piscaderabay as a base for their
research and other projects.
After years of intensive use, it
had become time to upgrade these
facilities to a higher standard, and
also to offer more lodging space
to visiting scientists and students
from all over the world. In the
last three months of 2007 much
construction noises could be heard
on the CARMABI premises.
Now, at the end of December,
the dorms are almost finished
and will be completely finished
before the 30th, when 15 students
of the University of Illinois will
use them as a base for their winter
course of Marine Biology.
A total of 26 persons can stay
in the CARMABI rooms,
simultaneously. Most of the rooms
can host 2-4 persons.
There is a new airconditioned
working area for students in the
building of CARMABI with a
wireless internet connection.
The lab facilities are also being
thoroughly reviewed and several
items are being renewed or
serviced. A second storage
container was bought and will
shortly be placed next to the
container sponsored by Curaçao
Renaissance, to store lab materials
that are not being used regularly.
The addition of new storage space
makes more effective use of the
CARMABI buildings possible.
For more information on prices
of our facilities and reservations,
please take a look at our website
at www.carmabi.org.
Saba Bank mollusc research!
CARMABI was host in the month
of December to mr. Bart van
Heugten from the Netherlands. A
regular volunteer to the museum
of natural history Naturalis in
Leiden and assistant to NIOZ
with a big interest in molluscs.
He works on several mollusc
identification projects, especially
in studies dedicated to the coral
banks in the Atlantic Ocean at
depths of 200 -1500 meters. In
December he started to work on
the small mollusc species of the
Antilles, and especially of the
Saba Bank. This plateau located
to the southwest of the island
of Saba is being investigated
by several scientists under
coordination by Paul Hoetjes,
senior policy advisor of the Dept.
of Health and Environment.
Several samples of sand were
collected from depths of 10-130
meters and transported to the
CARMABI lab where mr. Van
Heugten sifted them and started
collecting and analyzing the
different molluscs present in the
sand with the help of microscopes.
His main area of attention being
the molluscs smaller than 1 cm.
(Of 100.000 known mollusc
species, 80% are smaller than 1
cm.)
Several species have been
identified by mr. van Heugten,
but it is too soon to talk about
possible new species. A whole
identification process and analysis
will have to be concluded.
The collected molluscs are now
on their way to Naturalis in
Leiden, the Netherlands, to be
further analyzed by a Caribbean
mollusc specialist.
9
“Pusia variata and Hemitoma ostheimerae
are two of the species that were identified
in the samples. .”
Pictures from: Marine Gastropods, K.M.
de Jong & H.E. Coomans
Christoffel corner
New! Annual membership Christoffelpark
After many requests and
careful planning we can finally
launch the new Christoffelpark
annual membership. Starting
this December all locals who
are interested in buying this
membership can fill in a form
at the front desk of the park,
which, together with a (digital)
photograph and payment of
the fee will be processed at
CARMABI headquarters.
The new member will receive a
membership card with which he
or she has unlimited access to
the park during normal opening
hours and opening days with no
additional costs. Special activities
and services are not included in
the membership yet, but members
also get a discount on certain
activities. The amount of discount
and conditions will be published
before each activity.
10
Childeren are also eligible for
annual membership at a very
affordable price.
Memberships for adults and
childeren from 12 years and older
cost Nafl. 45 a year. Childeren
between 6 and 12 years of age pay
Nafl. 25 a year. Childeren younger
than 6 years old always visit the
park for free.
Interested? Send an email to
[email protected] to receive your
form, or get it at the front desk
of the Christoffelpark. Include a
picture and payment and get your
own membership card in just two
weeks.
Questions? Mail us at info@
carmabi.org or call us at 5403604/ 522-8289/ 864-0363.
Christoffel corner
Service quality control in Christoffelpark
As we reported in our last
newsletter, we have been working
on a client survey to test the
service quality of the park among
our visitors. Mr. Evert Prins, an
intern from the HAS Den Bosch
designed the survey together with
the management of the park and
he executed this survey in the
month of October.
To be sure the survey would
report exactly what we wanted
to know, the first step was to
inventarize how to categorize the
services. The main themes were:
“Activities, facilities and the
provision of information”.
A total of 70 visitors were
surveyed in October and some
interesting results came out.
First of all the overall impression
of the park was considered as
good, with enough activities
to fill an entire day. All though
the variety of activities was
not always clear enough to the
visitors, the people who did
know about these activities, like
the pickup safari, enjoyed these
inmensely and found this extra
effort worth while.
The reason many people did
not know about the variety of
activities in the park was due to a
lack of clearcut information about
these. When the front desk gives
information about the park the
activities are lost in the amount of
information given. Visitors do not
remember all this and therefor do
not stay informed of the various
options.
However, the front desk scored
high during the survey in terms
of consumer orientation and
provision of information.
The amount of information given
in the park itself concerning the
history of the area and the flora
and fauna that can be seen, was
not sufficient according to the
visitors. They expected more signs
with information about sites of
interest and flyers and brochures
about the flora and fauna in the
park.
One of the critical observations
was about the expectations
visitors have before coming
to the park. Many people saw
advertisements, articles and
pictures of the park including
fauna like the rare White-tailed
deer. The expectations of spotting
these animals on their own
were very high and people were
disappointed when after a full
day visit, they could not report a
single spotting of these animals.
Allthough striking elements of
flora and fauna are often used in
the marketing of wildlife reserves,
it can create false expectations
and hence disappointment
among visitors. When talking
with the hosts in the park, the
false expectations can be easily
corrected by explaining the
ecology of the species used
in advertisements and other
marketing efforts, but not all
visitors come in contact with
these hosts. The rare species can
also be reliably sighted during
guided tours which are available.
Disappointment can lead to
negative publicity so it is very
important to be aware of these
dangers.
The most important result of this
(small) survey is the fact that we
have to keep developing better
ways of providing information
to our visitors about services
provided in the park. And the best
way to monitor visitor service
provision is to take these surveys
regularly in different seasons and
during longer periods.
The next survey is planned for
February and March 2008.
11
“The carguides to the northern and southern
routes in the park, have been introduced in
July 2006. Visitors experience these guides
as very usefull. One problem is the fact that
the guides are only available in English.
Many Dutch visitors complain about the
lack of Dutch carguides. A point that we will
handle in 2008.”
“The information given to visitors by the
front desk at the Park entrance was considered sufficient.”
“Visitors expected more infromation about
flora, fauna and history on signs throughout
the park”
Christoffel corner
A colorfull and green Christmas and lush beginning of 2008
“Park rangers at work.”
“Hilu di Diabel.”
“Male Dornasol (Chrysolampis mosquitus).”
Source: De vogels van de Nederlandse
Antillen by Dr. K. H. Voous, March 1955
The rainy season has begun for
real. Almost daily rain showers
on the island transformed the
“mondi” completely from barren
scrub to lush forest. Although we
feel the weather in the amount
of visitors coming to the park,
especially in the month of
December, we are happy with
the transformation in the park.
A green park inmediately boosts
the number of visitors to the
park again. Wherever you hike
or drive, the lush vegetation with
flowers in all colors and sizes
lives up the nature expectations.
Many birds are working hard on
their second or even third nests
for the season. The bananaquit is
especially fast.
The Dornasol, the Ruby-topaz
Hummingbird (Chrysolampis
mosquitus), a presumed
seasonal visitor to the island,
can be admired all around the
park. Even around the Savonet
Plantation house, there are regular
sightings of these birds, hovering
over flowers of the Carawara
spañó (Cordia sebestena), the
Kibrahacha (Tabebuia chrysantha)
and the Indju (Prosopis juliflora).
Often you can see the males
fighting in acrobatic “dances”
through the air or chasing each
other, while making high-pitched
squeaky sounds.
With the plants growing fast, we
encounter several infrastructural
problems in the park. Roads and
trails overgrow quickly making it
difficult to hike and drive.
Since the beginning of October
our park ranger teams are working
almost full-time to keep the
roads and trails accessible. With
some additional part-time hands
we are now working with two
maintenance crews working the
trails and roads.
Anyone visiting the park at the
12
moment will encounter patches
of orange robe-like patches on
the ground or all over a tree. This
organism is a parasitic plant.
When it starts getting humid on
the island these plants “spring”
back to life and can envelope
entire trees in a record of time.
The “Hilu di Diabel” or Love
vine (Cuscuta americana), as the
plant is called, grows its roots into
stems and vines of other plants,
to extract the juices that the other
plants produces. The Love Vine
can not survive on its own due to
the fact that it has no leaves with
chlorophyll.
When flowering, the plant gets
small white flowers which are
situated in bunches. The seeds are
sticky and presumably stick to the
bill of birds. The animals rub their
bill against other plants and thus
take care of the seed dispersal.
In the dry period the plant dries
up. The bright orange patches
are no longer visible and when
observed closely it is clear that
what is left of the plants are
brown dry strawy segments.
When the next rain showers
present themselves they will wake
the seeds for a new set of vines.
Want to visit the park with the
assistance of a guide? Please
call and make your reservations.
Hiking or exploring with one
of our trained guides makes the
experience all the more pleasant
and interesting.
Call (5999)864-0363 for your
reservations or e-mail info@
carmabi.org after you have taken
a look at the regular activities
we organize in the park on www.
carmabi.org.