Tobago holds the world’s oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere

Tobago holds the world’s oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere, which is one of the Things About Trinidad and Tobago You Should Know. Tobago's Main Ridge Forest Preserve spans 9,780 acres of protected rainforest! The rainforest, which was established on April 13, 1776 (just before the United States was formed), is home to a rich assortment of plant life, 16 mammalian species, 210 bird species, and a wide range of other creatures. The white-tailed sabre hummingbird, which can be seen all around the island, is maybe the most popular.

The rainforest is home to a variety of flora and fauna, including twelve to sixteen species of mammals (out of nearly ninety mammal species in the Caribbean region), twenty-four non-poisonous snakes, sixteen lizards, and two hundred and ten species of birds, the most notable of which is the rare and endemic to Tobago bird Campylopterus ensipennis (White-tailed Sabrewing Hummingbird). Many plant and wildlife populations declined or vanished during Hurricane Flora in 1963. One of the species that has recovered since the catastrophe is the Sabrewing Hummingbird. In 2005, Trinidad and Tobago's Environment Management Authority designated the bird as an Environmentally Sensitive Species.