Isla Partida (Espiritu Santo), Baja California Sur, Mexico
Most of the islands in the Gulf of California are considered by many biologists as the Galápagos of Mexico. Each Island has endemic plants or animals or both that are unique to that island. One of the best conserved and interesting for the presence of endemic animals is Espiritu Santo, part of which is called Isla Partida. There are two endemic species of mammals on it: the Black Jackrabbit and the Espiritu Santo Island Ground Squirrel. As winter has been very dry and the availability of green food for these two species is scarce, they have had to seek their nutrition from rather difficult sources: cacti. We saw various Sour Pitahaya specimens severely injured by being fed upon. Also seen quite frequently is the emerald-tailed lizard. A series of scorpion species and two species of bats are not generally seen due to their nocturnality (though today we saw a small insect-eating Pipistrellus sp. flying in the morning, back and forth, in search of small insects). Among the small rodents are the spiny mouse, the desert wood rat and the cactus mouse. The carnivore of the island is the ringtail cat, cousin of the raccoon.
During the morning, we made different hikes up into the hills, snorkeled in the clear water and enjoyed a very large variety of fish and invertebrates. After lunch, having moved south into another bay called Puerto Ballena, we kayaked to our heart’s content, watched a lovely sunset, and enjoyed an after dinner bonfire.
Most of the islands in the Gulf of California are considered by many biologists as the Galápagos of Mexico. Each Island has endemic plants or animals or both that are unique to that island. One of the best conserved and interesting for the presence of endemic animals is Espiritu Santo, part of which is called Isla Partida. There are two endemic species of mammals on it: the Black Jackrabbit and the Espiritu Santo Island Ground Squirrel. As winter has been very dry and the availability of green food for these two species is scarce, they have had to seek their nutrition from rather difficult sources: cacti. We saw various Sour Pitahaya specimens severely injured by being fed upon. Also seen quite frequently is the emerald-tailed lizard. A series of scorpion species and two species of bats are not generally seen due to their nocturnality (though today we saw a small insect-eating Pipistrellus sp. flying in the morning, back and forth, in search of small insects). Among the small rodents are the spiny mouse, the desert wood rat and the cactus mouse. The carnivore of the island is the ringtail cat, cousin of the raccoon.
During the morning, we made different hikes up into the hills, snorkeled in the clear water and enjoyed a very large variety of fish and invertebrates. After lunch, having moved south into another bay called Puerto Ballena, we kayaked to our heart’s content, watched a lovely sunset, and enjoyed an after dinner bonfire.
