LIZARDS & MONKEYS & DOLPHINS OH MY: WILDLIFE ON ROATAN
Apr 24 '05 (Updated May 09 '05)
The Bottom Line Roatan, more than fantastic reefs and great beaches.
Roatan is a veritable Caribbean zoo when it comes to interesting wildlife and this doesn't include the bounty of exotic seafood that often shows up on the menu of several of the island's best restaurants. The island is full of various creatures, so many in fact that a whole day could be spent just visiting them. Four easily reached tourist sites on the island provide a fair sample of the local fauna.
At one time the Green Iguana roamed all over the island. Unfortunately for these slow moving reptiles the locals looked on them as a delicacy. These days while not quite an endangered species the iguana population of Roatan is not what it used to be.
Enter Sherman Arch an expat from the southern United States. Arch arrived on the island several years ago and soon after established Arch's Iguana Farm on his property located just east of French Harbour. For reason’s known only to him, Arch took the plight of the iguanas to his heart and established a safe haven for them. He raises them and feeds them and what started as a simple hobby has grown to become one of Roatan's more interesting tourist sites.
Arch raises the baby iguanas in large cages until they're old enough to take care of themselves. The adults roam freely around the farm, some often basking in the treetops enjoying the sunshine. The best time to visit is around noon, feeding time. From out of nowhere literally hundreds of iguanas of all shapes and sizes appear in the centre of the farm to enjoy their noonday meal.
Arch's love of animals extends beyond the lizard family. There is a veritable menagerie on the sprawling wooded lot, chickens, parrots, cockatiels, squirrels, even a turtle farm located near the shoreline. Some of the animals roam free; others are caged, probably for their own protection. The Iguanas don't look to be too particular during their midday feeding frenzy.
The Iguanas aside, one of the more photographed attractions at the farm are a couple of spider monkeys.
Ash's Iguana Farm is open daily from and admission is $5.00 US all proceeds going to support the Iguanas. There is no snack bar, but there are public restrooms and a few vending machines. Several local vendors have also set up shop offering the usual assortment of souvenirs.
For those who didn't get enough of the spider monkeys at Arch's place, keep heading east down the road, there's only one on Roatan, until you reach Fantasy Island. In addition to the paying guests, this island beach and dive resort has it's own local menagerie including peacocks, a local rabbit like mammal, and a large family of monkeys.
The monkeys are one of the regular attractions here and seem to have the guests and other visitors well trained. The family puts in an appearance daily and are quite used to posing for pictures and accepting candy and other snacks. If nothing is offered then they'll just help themselves. The monkeys appear to have excellent taste, as is evident for their fondness for the local beer and daiquiris.
Fantasy Island offers day beach passes to non-guests.
From playful monkeys we move on to beautiful insects. The Roatan Butterfly Garden is located at the west end of the island, just outside the town of West End. It is home to hundreds of species of butterflies as well as fair number of hummingbirds and even a few parrots and toucans, all of this enclosed in breathtaking garden setting. Guided tours lasting an hour are available.
The Roatan Butterfly Garden is open every day except Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission is $5.00 US, $3.00 for children under 10 years of age. There is a gift shop on the grounds.
Nearby the Butterfly Farm is one of the most popular attractions on the island, the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences at Anthony's Key on the island's north coast. This institute is devoted to the study and conservation of marine life and is located on the grounds of Anthony's Key Resort.
The RIMS is open to the public and there are always displays on local marine life here. The Roatan Museum is located in the same building and has some interesting displays on the island's history and culture.
Most people come here for the dolphins though. The dolphin shows run about forty-five minutes and involves a pair of dolphins performing various tricks. A camera is a must for this attraction. Shows are twice daily at 10:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday to Friday.
Admission to the show is $4.00 US and includes the RIMS and museum, free for guests of the resort.
It is also possible to arrange to swim or snorkel with the dolphins. Costs vary depending on the package, and length of time. A snorkel trip lasting almost an hour cost $73.00 US. For qualified scuba divers a dolphin dive package is available for $112.00 US. Guests of the resort are eligible for discounts on these prices.
There is a snack bar available at the show "stage" and the Anthony's Key Resort gift shop is located nearby.
There are of course other animals on the island, including hundreds of species of local birds, and horses and many others in their natural environment for those interested in exploring.
Several cruise ships a week visit Roatan and most offers tours to one or more of these sites as do the various hotels and resorts on the island. Prices for such organized tours are usually higher than the admissions costs noted although they usually include the services of a guide and transportation it is worth checking to see if a tour from a ship and/or hotel is going to be there the same time as you and then change your plans unless you prefer crowds.
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