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For Immediate Release, May 17, 2012

Contact: Tierra Curry, (928) 522-3681

Study: 90 Percent of Endangered Species Recovering on Time

Caribbean's Sea Turtles, Parrots, Tree Snakes Among Species Improving
Because of Endangered Species Act

WASHINGTON— A new Center for Biological Diversity analysis of 110 endangered species finds that 90 percent, including many in the Caribbean, are on track to meet recovery goals set by federal scientists. The review examined population trends of plants and animals protected by the Endangered Species Act, including the Caribbean’s Puerto Rican parrots, Atlantic hawksbill sea turtles, piping plovers and Virgin Islands tree boas. Again and again, the analysis finds species on a positive trajectory toward recovery — and in some cases, exceeding expectations.

“There are Endangered Species Act success stories throughout America, and the U.S. Caribbean’s no exception,” said Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center. “No other law in the world has done so much to rescue species from the brink of extinction and put them on a path to recovery. Simply put, the Act has been remarkably successful.”



“Some of the Caribbean’s signature species, from hawksbill sea turtles to the Puerto Rican parrot, are on their way to recovery thanks to the Endangered Species Act,” Suckling said.




Caribbean Highlights

Hawksbill sea turtle. Known for their distinctive beak and the classic “tortoiseshell” coloring that has long made them a popular commercial attraction, these oval-shaped turtles were listed as endangered in 1970. Today they continue to be in serious decline across much of their worldwide range, but populations in U.S. territories are making significant gains. Despite protective legislation, international trade in tortoiseshell and subsistence use of meat and eggs continues in many countries, and beach nesting areas remain in constant jeopardy of being developed. Although trends are uncertain due to long intervals between hawksbill nesting generations (hawksbills take between 30 and 40 years to reach sexual maturity) numbers are increasing at protected locations. On Mona Island, Puerto Rico, the number of nests increased from 177 in 1974 to 332 in 2005.
Puerto Rican parrot.  Now one of the most endangered birds in the world, the Puerto Rican parrot would likely have gone extinct without Endangered Species Act protection. This 11-inch-long, emerald-green beauty was once ubiquitous in the lofty tropical canopies of the Puerto Rico Archipelago, with historic pre-Columbian populations estimated at somewhere between 100,000 and 1 million. The population began to drop in the mid-1600s as the human population of the islands increased, but the parrot’s dramatic decline came in the latter half of the 19th century due to deforestation. By the early 20th century, it was extirpated from all offshore islands and restricted to five locations on the main island. By 1940 it occurred only in a single population in the Luquillo Mountains in eastern Puerto Rico, and by 1975 the wild population had declined to 14 birds. Following its listing as endangered in 1967, the wild population slowly started growing, and the captive population grew more robustly. The progress of the wild population was set back when almost half the population was killed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. As of 2008, a minimum of 35 parrots survived in the wild, and two captive-breeding facilities held more than 225 individuals.
Virgin Islands tree boa. This 4-foot-long, blotched brown boa native to Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands is highly secretive, spending its days hiding in termite nests or beneath rocks and its nights slithering up trees to dine on sleeping lizards. Under favorable conditions, the tree boa can exist in high densities on small islands. But large-scale habitat destruction and the introduction of exotic predators, from the Indian mongoose to cats and rats, have caused severe population declines, leaving concentrated boa populations only on small, uninhabited cays and islets where the snakes are vulnerable to regular inundations from the ocean and storms. The boa was listed as endangered in 1970, and a federal recovery plan was developed in 1986, at which time only 71 snakes were known from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The wild population on Cayo Diablo, Puerto Rico rose from 58 in 1985 to 250 in 2004. A captive-breeding program was begun in 1985 and reintroductions were initiated in 1993 and have been very successful, including on one island where a population of 41 reintroduced boas increased over 10 years to nearly 500 snakes by 2008. On another island, 42 snakes reintroduced in 1996 increased to 170 snakes within five years. The 2009 “Five Year Review” recommended downlisting the species.

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