Did you know.....
 

Cockpit Country

Cockpit Country is often referred to as an “island within and island” because of its high endemism (plants and animals that are found there and nowhere else in Jamaica or in the world).

Biodiversity

There are 65 species of flowering plants and two species of ferns that are endemic to Cockpit Country.  Overall, Cockpit Country contains 25% (215) of Jamaica’s 828 endemic plants, and 23% (19) of Jamaica’s endemic ferns. 

Most of Jamaica’s 550 species of native ferns are found in Cockpit Country.  In fact, relative to its area, more species of ferns are found in Cockpit Country than any other tropical forest in the world.

Cockpit Country also has the highest local diversity of amphibians and reptiles in Jamaica, and includes two reptiles and three amphibians which are endemic to the area. The  area is a habitat for 68% (15) of Jamaica’s endemic amphibians and 59% (20) of Jamaica’s endemic reptiles. 

The area also likely has the only viable population of the endangered Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Pterourus homerus) which is endemic to Jamaica and is the largest butterfly in the western hemisphere. Cockpit Country is also home to 70% (14) of Jamaica’s 20 endemic butterflies, three of which are  endemic to the area.

A total of 27 of Jamaica’s 28 endemic birds are found in Cockpit Country, which is also Jamaica’s largest Important Bird Area (IBA).  These include the endangered Jamaican Blackbird (Nesopsar nigerrimus), and the threatened Black-Billed Parrot (Amazona agilis) and Yellow-billed Parrot (Amazona collaria).  Approximately 95% of the Black-billed Parrot population is found in the Cockpit Country.

You can sign the “Save Cockpit Country” petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/848967167

Sources:

Verb comm. Dr. Susan Koenig, Windsor Research Centre.

Script for JET’s 2007 teacher training workshop entitled “Cockpit Country: An island within an island”