Meet the Local Wildlife!
Driving around Tortola is a delight. From the top of the Ridge Road you can get an amazing view of the capital of Road Town, from the top of Windy Hill you can get a beautiful view of Cane Garden Bay, and from Sky World you can get an expansive view of Jost Van Dyke. Along the way to these lookouts, you will most likely run into a few of our local wildlife.
Roaming casually along the sides of the road, are usually goats of all sorts of colours. These goats may seem wild, but they do belong to a farmer nearby. You can see families traveling together in packs. Juvenile goats, called kids, can be found playing nearby. They are so much fun to watch while they jump around, and playfully harassing
A female donkey is called a Jenny
each other. Have you ever heard the noise a goat makes? It can be quite humorous! It really makes you second-guess if it was an animal who made the noise or a person!
Sometimes, you can get lucky and spot an iguana. These magnificent creatures usually hide in the bushes but have been spotted near the beaches. They are a reclusive animal and very fearful of humans. They look very prehistoric with green scales covering their body and a Mohawk of spikes running down their head and spine. The Anegada Rock Iguana, native to the island of Anegada, is a species of iguana that was functionally extinct. The sanctuary in the Settlement, the main town of the island, has been breeding and releasing iguanas when they are large enough to survive in the wild. Last year during the Iguana Fest, they released 250 iguanas!
Back in the day, the means of transportation on the island was by donkey. It was a run of the mill sight to see an old man and his donkey going down the street going about his business. 
Nowadays, the sight is quite rare but donkeys are still around. They can be seen in the bushes casually eating leaves or taking a nap. Every year during our Festival celebrations in August, we have donkey races. Older men race down a short part of the main street, which is closed off to vehicles. It is a fun sight to see!
We also have chickens and roosters running around. Our roosters definitely operate on ‘island time’, as they tend to crow at any time of the day! Our little group of islands are home to many creatures great and small. These are just a handful of animals who call the BVI home!
