Isla de Ratones ( Spanish for ''

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

island'') is a small uninhabited

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

off the southern coast of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, off the coast of Ponce. The island is part of barrio

Canas Canas or Cañas may refer to: Places * Canas (Lycia), a town of ancient Lycia, now in Turkey * Amatlán de Cañas, a municipality in Nayarit, Mexico * Cañas Canton, in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica * Cañas, Costa Rica, capital of the Cañas (ca ...

in the municipality of Ponce. The island gained attention in 2010 when the Puerto Rican Bird Society made it a target for the eradication of the

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

. While named as one single island, it is actually composed of two islands separated by a few feet of shallow water during high tide, which become a single island at low tide.

Location

The island, sometimes erroneously considered a key (or

cay A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...

), is located 0.62 mi (1.0 km) south of the mainland Puerto Rican shore across from Punta Cucharas in barrio

. The island has an area of 6.94 ''cuerdas'' (one ''cuerda'' equals 0.97 acres) It is located at latitude 17.95500° and longitude -66.68139°. The short distance from the mainland shore makes Ratones a popular landing point for aquatic events such as

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

. Together with

Caja de Muertos Caja de Muertos (; also in English: ''Coffin Island'') is an uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Ponce. The island and its surrounding waters are protected by the Caja de Muertos Nature Reserve, beca ...

, Gatas,

Morrillito Morrillito is a small uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The island is protected by the ''Reserva Natural Caja de Muertos'' natural reserve because of its native turtle traffic. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Raton ...

, Cardona,

Isla del Frio Isla or ISLA may refer to: Organizations * International Securities Lending Association, a trade association * International School of Los Angeles * International Bilingual School, later named International School of Los Angeles People * Isla (g ...

, and Isla de Jueyes, Ratones is one of seven islands in the municipality of Ponce.

Geography and climate

The island is a small low island covered mostly by brushwood. The climate is dry and the island supports dry forest. While named as one single island, it is actually composed of two islands separated by a few feet of shallow water during high tide, which become a single island at low time. At low tide the size of the island increases from 6.94 ''

cuerda The term "cuerda" (Spanish for ''rope'') refers to a unit of measurement in some Spanish-speaking regions, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Spain, and Paraguay. In Puerto Rico, the term cuerda (and "Spanish acre"acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s. This low-tide size makes Isla de Ratones about 50% larger than the more prominent Cardona which, at , is home to the

Cardona Island Light Cardona Island Light (also known as Faro del Puerto de Ponce or Cayo Cardona Light) is the only 6th order lighthouse in Puerto Rico with a cylindrical attached tower. The light is located on Cardona Island, a small island on the west side of th ...

and is located 2.96 miles (4.77 kilometers) to the east.

Origin of the name

The name ''Ratones'', which translates into "mice", comes from the large number of rodents found in the island. In 2010, the Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (Puerto Rican Bird Society) and the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club launched a campaign to eradicate the

from the Island.''Restauran hábitat del lagartijo del seco Anolis cooki en la Isla de Cardona y Cayo Ratones''
4 August 2010, retrieved 26 April 2011.

Nature reserve

Though not officially a nature reserve, the island is administered by the

Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER) is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico tasked with protecting, conserving, developing, and managing the natural and environmental resources in Puert ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratones Uninhabited islands of Puerto Rico Cays and islets of Puerto Rico Islands of Ponce, Puerto Rico