Joanna James
The tropical islands that form the Maldivian archipelago are home to a diverse range of wildlife, and while the marine animals are the biggest lure, there are critters on land too that are quite fascinating to observe. Listed here is the country's most fascinating wildlife.
Anyone enjoying a stay at the fab Maldives island resorts will come across these flying foxes aka fruit bats; at night. Their squabbling like screeches can be heard at night as they wake up and start their enthusiastic hunt for food. Before dusk, however, the bats can be seen peacefully hanging from the branches of trees, their heads tucked in and forever lost in an afternoon daydream. If you are a photographer and are staying at verdant resorts like Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives, explore the lush gardens at dusk, which is when the bats are starting to wake up and make excellent photography subjects.
Rare land-based reptile species find the Maldivian ecosystem ideal home grounds. Garden lizards and geckos are the widely spread reptilian species and can be spotted scurrying around the resort islands. If you are a photographer take your camera and try to scout out the Oriental Garden lizard and the Agamid Lizard; the colourful reptiles are pretty sights to snap. On the endemic list of Maldivian wildlife is the Lygosoma Albopunctata which is a skink species that's rather hard to spot.
On a snorkelling session around the coral reefs of the Maldives, you are bound to spot one of the two species of sea snake living in the Maldives; the Hydrophis Platurus and Pelamis Platurus. If left undisturbed these snakes are harmless, you can look for them on the beaches enjoying a spot of sun on warm days. There are two more snake species which are endemic to the Maldives, the Blind snake and Wolf snake which are not too commonly spotted.
The Maldives is a haven for sea turtles; one is treated to abundant views of the Leatherback, Hawksbill and Green turtle species. The waters the turtles swim in are kept clean through the efforts of the Maldives Wildlife Conservation bodies. There is even an 'injured turtles' rescue centre which visitors can visit. Turtle season is from June to November which is when you are treated to sights of turtles coming up to the beach to lay eggs, under the light of the silvery moon and if you are really lucky you may time your holiday to the Maldives, to coincide with a period when you can watch the hatched turtles making their way back to the sea.
Pelagic birds thrive in the Maldives due to the islands being closely clustered together. Most of the species migrate to Eurasia while seasonal frigatebirds put up quite a show snatching food right out of the unsuspecting beaks of smaller birds. The rich bio-diverse environs of the Maldives encourage some very interesting species to thrive or migrate there; hence you can look forward to spotting black-naped turns, white-tailed tropic birds, Saunders tern, sandpiper and more.
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