Wildlife of Cape Verde

The wildlife of Cape Verde is found across its archipelago of ten islands and three islets, albeit in smaller numbers of species than mainland Africa. Each volcanic island within the archipelago is unique, and each of them have parks under their jurisdiction, by decree promulgated by the Cape Verde government. Located just off the west coast of Africa, the total land area of the island nation is 4,564 square kilometres (1,762 sq mi).

With the exception of bats, there are no truly endemic species of mammal on Cabo Verde; historically, the archipelago was only accessible to creatures with the ability to fly or swim, or (in later years) to be brought by humans. The islands were first explored in 1456, but not actually settled until 1462; humans brought their livestock with them, including donkeys, pigs, cattle and goats—many of the latter are now so wild, they resemble mainland ibex, and are (more or less) considered endemic “by default”.

In the centuries since settlement began, more mainland species (such as the green vervet monkey, cats, dogs, mice, rats and rabbits) would make their way with waves of settlers. There are no snakes present on the archipelago, which has allowed for the proliferation of many other species of other herpetiles, such as geckos, frogs and lizards. The main predators of these reptiles and amphibians would be (besides each other) the various birds of prey and raptors present, including the Egyptian vulture, Eurasian buzzard, kestrel, osprey, peregrine falcon, and the rare Cape Verde kite. This kite species is currently threatened by extinction but may yet be observed on Boa Vista and Maio.

The flora consists of tropical dry forests, scrub land, Mediterranean-climate mountains, and rich coral reefs with abundant marine life. The islands are key migration points and breeding locations for numerous birds, plus the 20 different species of cetaceans—including pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins, and humpback whales—which come to feed and mate in the rich waters. Female green sea turtles come to lay their eggs on secluded beaches, likely the same ones they themselves hatched on.^[1][2][3]

Some of the wildlife species of Cape Verde are considered as endemic, evolving over millions of years of isolation; the grey-headed kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala) survived here on insects in the absence of water in the lands of the islands.^[4]

In the process of development, many lands in the islands were converted to agricultural fields and several hundred varieties of herbaceous plant and tree species were introduced, resulting in depletion of the original vegetation. However, efforts are now underway at reforestation to improve the wildlife of Cape Verde, with reported planting of three million new trees every year (about 7000 per day), with pine, oak, sweet chestnut and acacia as the prominent varieties being planted.^[2][4] Cape Verde is also one of the world's top ten coral reef biodiversity hotspots.^[5]