Bats and Macaws
Today we will learn some fun facts about Trinidad and Tobago while doing some arts and crafts. Go grab your stuff and let’s get started! Here’s what you need to make your crafts:
MT. TAMANA BATS
To start our island adventure, Dip & Dunk, Ryan and Auntie Sharon trek through the forest to visit the Bats of Mt. Tamana at sunset! How exciting! Mt Tamana is the highest mountain in the Eastern Central range, standing tall at almost 1,000 feet.
This underground cave system made of limestone is home to over 1.5 million bats..that’s more bats than there are people in Trinidad and Tobago! Eleven different species of bats can be found in the Mt. Tamana caves, they are made up of fruit eating bats, nectar eating bats, insect eating bats and vampire bats! Bats are very useful little creatures as they help pollinate plants, spread seeds that keep the forests alive and most importantly, they keep down the insect population..bye, bye pesky mosquitoes!
You can visit the Mt. Tamana caves with a guide to see the amazing spectacle of over a million bats leaving the caves at sunset! Would you like to visit the bats?
Want to make your own Mt. Tamana Bat? Head over to the Dairy Dairy Facebook page and let’s get started.
BLUE & GOLD MACAWS OF THE NARIVA SWAMP
While Ryan, Dip and Dunk head off to the Nariva Swamp in search of the Gold & Blue Macaws, Auntie Sharon shows you how to make a beautiful macaw mask to wear. You can gather up your craft supplies to create along with her. Be as creative as you like! You can even use your empty Dairy Dairy foil packs to decorate your mask.
These macaws are very special birds.. not only are they know for their beauty..the are very intelligent too! They are well known for their ability to mimic sounds and are very sociable creatures. At one point, these incredible birds became extinct in the wild in Trinidad due to destruction of their habitat and people catching them to keep as pets. Thanks to the conservation efforts of the Wildfowl Trust, new birds were brought over from South America, bred, raised and released into the Nariva Swamp which is now a protected reserve.
Remember, the best way to enjoy birds is to plant trees and observe them as they fly free in the wild! I wonder if Ryan got great photos on his trip to see them? Do send us photos of the lovely masks you made so we can show them off on all the Dairy Dairy social media pages.
