Curacao Animals
Not only the temperature and the environment make Curacao! On Curacao you will of course find a completely different climate than in the Netherlands and so on Curacao you will find completely different animals … Instead of gloomy crows you will find cheerful sugar birds and instead of the well-known pike you will find the DOLPHIN here! Have you always dreamed of swimming with dolphins or getting a kiss from them? That is possible at the Dolphin Academy, located at Sea Aquarium Curacao.
When you go out for a day to the west of Curacao you should definitely not forget to drive past the FLAMINGO’s. They simply fly around here in the wild. If you drive from Willemstad to Westpunt, after approximately 7 kilometers after the roundabout towards Westpunt, take the exit on the left to the ‘Weg naar St. Willibrordus’. Specified moment you see the bright pink flamingos on your left. Do not hesitate to park your car along the road and enjoy the view of the ‘Jan Kok Bay’.
From St. Willibrordus it is a 20 minute drive to ‘Playa Lagun’ where you will find iguana’s (iguanas) and sea turtles (you need to use a snorkel to spot sea turtles). Don’t forget to bring something tasty for the IGUANA because then it suddenly becomes your best friend and he will eat out of your hand! An iguana is one of the many lizard species that you will find on the island. Take a good look around, lizards can be found everywhere here … Are you curious how the iguana tastes? Restaurant Jaanchie’s is one of the few to prepare the iguana in a delightful way. And are you unlucky and have you not seen a sea turtle at ‘Playa Lagun’? Give it a try at ‘Playa Grandi’, this small beach is around Jaanchie’s. Here are many fishing boats that throw the ‘waste’ into the water after filleting their fish. And guess who loves fish? Right … THE TURTLE!
Fortunately, the sea turtle knows which fish to leave alone. Here on Curacao we have a number of special fish such as the LION FISH and that is a poisonous creature … They are delicious to eat, just like the Red Snapper. There are thousands of fish species around the waters of Curacao and it is highly recommended to rent / borrow or purchase a snorkel to discover what is in the oceans. There are of course beautiful beaches for snorkeling.
If you walk along the sea water nice and quiet once and suddenly something strikes your feet, don’t be frightened! This is most likely a SANDPAPER. This crab is just as white as the sand so we call it the sand crab. When the little crab sees you coming, it quickly shoots away. What does the scratch do if it no longer finds a way out? Then he digs his own way out! The sand crabs can dig all too quickly so that you can no longer find them.
More visible but also special creatures are hermit crabs. These ten-legged lobsters nestle in an empty shell to protect their vulnerable abdomen. You can also find this lobster on the white beaches of Curacao. At ‘Playa Cas Abao’ you see the children of the local population playing sand crabs and hermit crabs on the beach. Daily food, right?
You will also find the Christoffel Park on the ‘Weg naar Westpunt’. This park is known for, among other things, the Christoffelberg, which is often climbed by tourists. In this park you will find a beast that you probably don’t expect under the Curacaosche sun … A deer! Curacao is also the only island in the Caribbean where a deer occurs so don’t be ashamed if this information has passed you by. The official name of this deer is the ‘white-tailed deer’. The deer only eats the tops of the plants and trees and is smaller than a normal deer, making it unique.
