Isla de Ratones (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

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 a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

off the southern coast of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, off the coast of Ponce. The island is part of barrio Canas 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 Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

, 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 Grea ...

), is located 0.62 mi (1.0 km) south of the mainland Puerto Rican shore across from Punta Cucharas in barrio Canas. 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: ''Deadman's Chest'' or ''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 Muer ...

, 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, and

Isla de Jueyes Isla de Jueyes are a group of three small uninhabited islands off the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Morrillito, Ratones, Cardona, and Isla del Frío, Isla de Jueyes is one of seven islands ascribed t ...

, 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 The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

. 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 measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

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 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.

References

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