Editing Montserrat (section)

=== Wildlife ===
{{Further|List of birds of Montserrat|List of mammals of Montserrat|List of amphibians and reptiles of Montserrat}}
[[File:Icterus oberi.jpg|right|thumb|Montserrat oriole, the official bird of the island]]
Montserrat, like many isolated islands, is home to rare, [[endemic]] plant and animal species. Work undertaken by the Montserrat National Trust in collaboration with the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] has centred on the conservation of pribby (''[[Rondeletia buxifolia]]'') in the Centre Hills region. Until 2006, this species was known only from one book about the vegetation of Montserrat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kew.org/news/kew-blogs/the-montserrat-pribby-part-one.htm |title=The 'Montserrat pribby' (part one) |first=Nick |last=Johnson |work=kew.org |date=22 October 2010 |access-date=30 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222184551/http://www.kew.org/news/kew-blogs/the-montserrat-pribby-part-one.htm |archive-date=22 February 2014 }}</ref> In 2006, conservationists also rescued several plants of the endangered Montserrat orchid (''[[Epidendrum montserratense]]'') from dead trees on the island and installed them in the security of the island's botanic garden.

Montserrat is also home to the critically endangered [[Leptodactylus fallax|giant ditch frog]] (''Leptodactylus fallax''), known locally as the mountain chicken, found only in Montserrat and [[Dominica]]. The species has undergone catastrophic declines due to the amphibian disease [[Chytridiomycosis]] and the volcanic eruption in 1997. Experts from [[Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust]] have been working with the Montserrat Department of Environment to conserve the frog [[In-situ conservation|in-situ]] in a project called "Saving the Mountain Chicken",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amphibians.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mountain-Chicken-SAP-2014-working-draft-FINAL.pdf |title=Saving the Mountain Chicken:A Long-Term Recovery Strategy for the Critically Endangered mountain chicken 2014-2034 |website=Amphibians.org |access-date=20 March 2018 |archive-date=2 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802070923/http://www.amphibians.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Mountain-Chicken-SAP-2014-working-draft-FINAL.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and an [[Ex-situ conservation|ex-situ]] captive breeding population has been set up in partnership with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, [[Zoological Society of London]], [[Chester Zoo]], Parken Zoo, and the Governments of Montserrat and Dominica. Releases from this programme have already taken place in a hope to increase the numbers of the frog and reduce extinction risk from Chytridiomycosis.

The national bird is the endemic [[Montserrat oriole]] (''Icterus oberi'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arkive.org/montserrat-oriole/icterus-oberi/image-G55454.html |title=Montserrat oriole photo - ''Icterus oberi'' - G55454 |website=Arkive.org |access-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130042225/http://www.arkive.org/montserrat-oriole/icterus-oberi/image-G55454.html/ |archive-date=30 November 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[IUCN Red List]] classifies it as vulnerable, having previously listed it as critically endangered.<ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2017 |amends=2017 |title=''Icterus oberi'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T22724147A119465859 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22724147A119465859.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> Captive populations are held in several zoos in the UK including: Chester Zoo, [[London Zoo]], [[Jersey Zoo]] and [[Edinburgh Zoo]].

The [[Montserrat galliwasp]] (''Diploglossus montisserrati''), a type of lizard, is endemic to Montserrat and is listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered.<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Daltry, J.C. |year=2016 |errata=2017 |title=''Diploglossus montisserrati'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T6638A115082920 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T6638A71739597.en |access-date=8 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arkive.org/montserrat-galliwasp/diploglossus-montisserrati |title=Montserrat galliwasp videos, photos and facts - ''Diploglossus montisserrati'' |website=Arkive.org |access-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203013844/http://www.arkive.org/montserrat-galliwasp/diploglossus-montisserrati/ |archive-date=3 February 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A species action plan has been developed for this species.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.durrell.org/library/document/galliwasp_sap.pdf |last=Corry |first=E. |display-authors=etal |title=A Species Action Plan for the Montserrat galliwasp: ''Diploglossus montisserrati'' |publisher=Department of Environment, Montserrat |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-9559034-5-8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209022739/https://www.durrell.org/library/document/galliwasp_sap.pdf |archive-date=9 February 2017}}</ref>

In 2005, a biodiversity assessment for the Centre Hills was conducted. To support the work of local conservationists, a team of international partners, including Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds]] and [[Montana State University]], carried out extensive surveys and collected biological data.<ref name="durrell.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.durrell.org/library/document/durrell_cons_monograph_1_full_report.pdf |title=A biodiversity assessment of the Centre Hills, Montserrat |editor-first=Richard P. |editor-last=Young |year=2008 |series=Durrell Conservation Monograph No. 1 |website=Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust |access-date=23 June 2016 |archive-date=6 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406164925/http://www.durrell.org/library/Document/Durrell_Cons_Monograph_1_Full_Report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Researchers from Montana State University found that the invertebrate fauna was particularly rich on the island. The report found that the number of invertebrate species known to occur in Montserrat is 1241. The number of known beetle species is 718 species from 63 families. It is estimated that 120 invertebrates are endemic to Montserrat.<ref name="durrell.org"/>

Montserrat is known for its coral reefs and its caves along the shore. These caves house many species of bats, and efforts are underway to monitor and protect the ten species of bats from extinction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sei.org/bats |title=Bats |publisher=Sustainable Ecosystems Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006122348/http://www.sei.org/bats |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238734567 |title=Bats of Montserrat: Population Fluctuation and Response to Hurricanes and Volcanoes, 1978–2005 |first1=Scott C. |last1=Pedersen |first2=Gary G. |last2=Kwiecinski |first3=Peter A. |last3=Larsen |first4=Matthew N. |last4=Morton |first5=Rick A. |last5=Adams |first6=Hugh H. |last6=Genoways |first7=Vicki J. |last7=Swier |website=[[ResearchGate]] |date=1 January 2009 |access-date=31 July 2011 |name-list-style=amp |archive-date=6 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106014557/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238734567 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Montserrat tarantula (''[[Cyrtopholis femoralis]]'') is the only species of tarantula native to the island. It was first bred in captivity at the Chester Zoo in August 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterzoo.org/whats-happening/zoo-news/2016/08/montserrat-tarantulas-hatch |title=Montserrat tarantulas hatch in 'world first' |date=12 August 2016 |website=Chester Zoo |access-date=19 August 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817164422/http://www.chesterzoo.org/whats-happening/zoo-news/2016/08/montserrat-tarantulas-hatch |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Panorama---Montserrat.jpg|center|thumb|640x640px|Northern coast of Montserrat ]]