A Rare Encounter On Union Island

The Union Island Environmental Attackers Bird Watching crew had a rare experience while hiking recently along the eco-trail above Chattam Bay, on the western uninhabited portion of the Island.

The humid forest, with its craggy boulders, is the only known location of a tiny, blue-spotted gecko, Gonatodes daudini, which is endemic to Union Island. The Attackers were lucky enough to spot the rare creature hidden in a narrow crevice along the trail. They join the ranks of only a few dozen humans to have ever seen daudini.

Little is known about the tiny gecko, which was just described in 2005 after a discovery by Fr. Mark De Silva.

With hard work, proper planning, and good luck, Union Island may be able to protect the one-of-kind gecko, and its unique forest— a veritable Gem in the Grenadines.

While the lizard and forest may not be major attractions unto themselves, they are key parts in a greater eco-tourism package: from bird-watching in Ashton Lagoon Mangrove, Salt from the Belmont Pond, turtle patrols in Bloody Bay, and forest ecology and endemic species along the once-maintained eco-trail. Union Island has plenty to offer visitors.

The Sustainable Grenadine Inc’s recently approved Ashton Lagoon Restoration Project will facilitate a tourism steering committee to orchestrate such a linked-up package, while another proposal is in the works for the National Trust.

Source of article:
The Vincentian
07/15/2010
www.thevincentian.com