Cruising in Huvadhoo Atoll – Part II
Posted By Sara-Lise Haith on 26 November 2003
Well, hello again. I am back from cruising for almost 3 months down in Huvadhoo Atoll. It was certainly an exhilarating and interesting experience.
Huvadhoo Atoll* is a large atoll consisting of islands, patch reefs, pillars, knoll, faros** and atoll structures. See previous article Its islands are full of lush vegetation, including palm trees, and local trees, such as coconut trees, breadfruit, banyan trees, screw pines, and there are 13 species of mangroves creeping around brackish waters of some islands. Incidentally, the value of the Maldivian islands is calculated according to the quantity of natural palm trees present. It is estimated that there are 500 plant species, including introduced exotic and timber plants, of these, five are estimated to be endemic.
Fruits including bananas, papaya, watermelons, mangoes, pineapples, jujubes, custard apples, and limes; plus vegetables like green chiles, small onions, pumpkins, and gourds are cultivated. Cereals such as millet and maize; and roots and tubers like taro, yam, sweet potatoes, and cassava are also grown domestically.
Tropical flowers are found in abundance, either in the wild or cultivated in gardens. Hibiscus tiliaceus, Cordia subcordata, Thespesia populnea, and Calophyllum inophyllum are among a large variety of local timber grown for domestic consumption. The casuarina (Casuarina equisetifolia), a large, fast-growing evergreen, is being promoted by the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture as excellent windbreakers to shelter weaker plants from the damaging effects of sea spray.
Around 180 bird species have been recorded in the Maldives. As in other oceanic islands, sea birds are prolific (40 recorded species), with Laridae (gulls and terns), the most abundant. A non-pelagic species of this highly gregarious family is the beautiful white, or fairy tern, found in the southernmost atoll of Seenu. Noddy terns, noted for their exceptional tameness are common throughout the archipelago. Wading shore birds such as plovers, snipes, and sandpipers concentrate along shorelines taking crustaceans or probing for marine worms. Great and lesser frigate birds, who are the pirates of the air, typically breed on the numerous uninhabited islands (such as Hithadoo in Huvadhoo Atoll). The large grey heron and the rarely seen Maldivian little heron are among the 13 recorded species of Ardeidae (herons and bitterns) found here. Endemism and the frequency of unique sub-species of sea birds are high in the southern atolls.
There are also five species of marine turtles, the most frequently spotted are the green turtle and hawksbill. Olive Ridleys, loggerheads and leatherbacks have been seen but are rarely sighted. There are also 20 species of whales and dolphins in the Maldives coastal area, including sightings of sperm whales, and Brydes whales in Huvadhoo Atoll.
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