Animals & Birds On St. Croix

There are a variety of wildlife on the island...some even surprising. An interesting creature is the Mongoose which looks like a ferret. Apparently they are quite the hunters. They are very cute but quickly scurry away when you come near. There are no squirrels, chipmunks or rabbits to be seen.There are also deer on the island, but we have noticed they are much smaller than on the mainland US. As you drive along country roads it is not surprising to see a herd of goats grazing along the side of the road.

Chickens and roosters are everywhere. It is nothing to see a mother hen with her baby chicks crossing the street. They are the Lighthouse Mission looking for food scraps, at Youth With A Mission crowing all hours of the day, downtown, on the waterfront, just about anywhere you go they are there. There are lots of hummingbirds, doves and pigeons. I am surprised there are no beautiful tropical birds. There are peacocks in some areas but we haven't seen them yet...but their call is beautiful!                                                

There are no snakes here but the one critter you don't want around is the Centipede. They have a nasty bite and have been known to get in people's homes and bite them at night. My nightly prayer is "Lord, please don't let a Centipede come in our house." There are Geckos everywhere so you might as well not worry about them. They do well to keep bugs away so they are a blessing to have around. At night there are many bats flying around. During the day they stay in an old sugar mill tower and are quite noisy and packed together. They are great for keeping the mosquitoes away.

      

 The Iguana is an ugly looking "lizard." There are many of these and when you first see them you are quite startled. The good news is that they are afraid of us and run away. And run they do. They climb trees and there are actually two of them where we are staying. Billy captured a picture of this guy just a few days ago.

Skunks can not be found, or moose or elk! You have to travel to the mainland for these animals. But we don't mind sharing this island with the creatures God has made!