Animals in Bahamas
Flamingo
Phoenicopteridae (6 species)
The flamingo is the national bird of the Bahamas. It lives in shallow coastal lagoons and inland salt lakes, where flocks feed by filtering small crustaceans and algae from the water, and its bright pink color comes from the pigments in that diet. In the 1950s hunting had cut the population to about 5,000 birds. Inagua National Park, created in 1965 on Great Inagua, turned that around, and today some 60,000 to 80,000 flamingos live there, the largest breeding colony of its kind in the world.
View details→Wildlife in Bahamas
The Bahamas is a chain of about 700 low islands and cays, plus thousands of rocks, spread over the warm, shallow banks of the western Atlantic, east of Florida. Around 400,000 people live there, most of them on New Providence, in and around Nassau, while many of the outer islands are almost empty. The climate is warm all year, with a rainy season from about May to October and hurricanes possible from June to November, and the strongest storms can reshape beaches, mangroves and reefs in a single day. On land the islands are flat and dry, with pine forests on the northern islands, scrub and salt lakes in the south, so the land wildlife is small: rock iguanas on the remote cays, flamingos in the salt lakes of Great Inagua and owls and falcons in the open country. The real richness is in the water. Andros has one of the longest barrier reefs in the world, the islands are dotted with blue holes, and coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass meadows shelter sea turtles, parrotfish, dolphins and many kinds of shark.
People and wildlife meet mostly at sea. Fishing has always been part of Bahamian life, and the country chose to protect what it fishes: the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, created in 1958, was the first park of its kind in the world, and since 2011 all Bahamian waters have been a shark sanctuary, where catching or selling sharks is banned.
Tourism is built around the sea. Visitors dive with sharks off Bimini and at Tiger Beach near Grand Bahama, snorkel the reefs of Andros and the Exumas, take boats to the iguana cays and travel to Great Inagua to see flamingos by the thousand.
Most Dangerous Animals in Bahamas
The dangerous animals of the Bahamas all live in the sea, and there are no venomous snakes or large land predators on the islands. Sharks are the main concern. Several large kinds of shark live in Bahamian waters, some of them powerful and at home in shallow coastal water, and since 2011 the whole country has been a shark sanctuary, so they are common and used to divers. Some dive operators feed them to attract them, which brings many sharks together in one place. Most bites in the Bahamas are linked to spearfishing or feeding, when a shark goes for a speared fish or bait and catches a hand or leg instead.
Large predatory fish with long jaws full of teeth hover near the reefs, yet bites are rare and usually happen when a shiny object or a speared fish catches their eye. The best advice is simple: dive with local guides, leave speared fish out of the water, take off shiny jewelry, avoid murky water at dawn and dusk and never try to touch or feed wild animals. In practice, the sun, the currents and boat traffic are bigger risks for most visitors than any animal.
Top 10 Animals in Bahamas
The Bahamas' best known animals come mostly from the sea, and each has its own place. Sharks are the big draw: great hammerheads gather off Bimini from about December to April, bull sharks are regulars at the dive sites of Bimini, and Tiger Beach, a shallow sandy bank off Grand Bahama, is one of the best places in the world to dive with tiger sharks, and reef sharks patrol the outer reefs of almost every island. Bottlenose dolphins are easy to see from boats, and off Bimini some groups let snorkelers swim near them. Sea turtles feed over the seagrass meadows and reefs around Andros, Eleuthera and Abaco, and nest on quiet beaches in summer, while humpback whales pass offshore in winter. On land, flamingos gather by the thousands in the salt lakes of Great Inagua, and rock iguanas bask on the Allen Cays and other small cays of the Exumas, where boat tours stop to watch them. Peregrine falcons arrive in winter to hunt along the coasts, and barn owls hunt at night over the pine forests and open fields.
Iguana
Iguana iguana
The green iguana is an introduced species in the Bahamas, with breeding populations on some islands, linked to escaped or released pets and to iguanas arriving from Florida. It lives in coastal scrub and gardens. Its spread is a concern for the islands' native plants and wildlife, and its populations are watched as part of invasive species management. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas
The shallow seagrass banks of the Bahamas are important feeding grounds for green turtles, which graze across the archipelago throughout the year, while some nest on the beaches of the outer islands. Many of these turtles come from rookeries such as Tortuguero and Florida. The Bahamas banned the harvest of sea turtles in 2009, and research groups track juvenile green turtles in places like Bimini and Eleuthera. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Barn Owl
Tyto alba
The barn owl is a resident of the Bahamas, found on many of the islands in open pine forest, farmland, abandoned buildings and the edges of towns. It nests in caves, old structures and hollow trees and hunts rodents, bats and small birds at night. On islands where introduced rats are common, it plays a useful role in keeping their numbers down. It is often heard before it is seen, giving its harsh screech after dark. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinus
The peregrine falcon is present in the Bahamas mainly as a winter visitor and migrant from North America, arriving in autumn to hunt shorebirds, doves and other birds along beaches, mangroves and open coasts. Birds can be seen on many islands, often perched on tall structures or snags overlooking the shore. The species recovered strongly in North America after DDT was banned. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
Flamingo
Phoenicopteridae (6 species)
The Bahamas is home to the largest breeding colony of Caribbean flamingos in the world, found on the island of Inagua. Great Inagua's shallow salt lakes and coastal flats support a population of roughly fifty thousand birds. The Bahamian flamingo is the national bird of the country, and Inagua National Park was established in part to protect it. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern, reflecting the colony's stability under ongoing conservation efforts.
Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
Humpbacks pass through the Bahamas every winter on their way to and from the breeding grounds of the Dominican Republic. From about January to March they travel the deep channels and the edges of the banks, and Exuma Sound, between Eleuthera and the Exumas, is where most sightings happen, often of mothers with young calves. They are seen from boats and sometimes from the cliffs of Eleuthera. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Manatee
Trichechus manatus
The Bahamas has only a handful of manatees, around 15 according to local researchers, but they are regular. Most are Florida manatees that crossed the Gulf Stream and settled, and they have been seen and tracked in places like Abaco, the Berry Islands and Andros, where they use shallow seagrass flats and harbors. The Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation follows them one by one, and some have had calves on the islands. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Bottlenose Dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
The Bahamas is one of the best places in the world to see wild bottlenose dolphins in clear water. Around Bimini and on the shallow Little Bahama Bank boats find them often, sometimes together with Atlantic spotted dolphins, and some groups let snorkelers swim near them. Researchers have studied the dolphins of Abaco and Grand Bahama for decades. Boat rules limit how close tours can get. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
The Bahamas is one of the best places in the world to see a great barracuda. It lives across the whole archipelago, on reefs, wrecks, seagrass beds and the shallow banks, and often comes close to snorkelers and divers out of curiosity. Juveniles grow up in the mangrove creeks of Andros and the Exumas. On the flats it is a prized sport fish, and many anglers release it because large ones can carry ciguatera. IUCN status: Least Concern.
Tiger Shark
Galeocerdo cuvier
The Bahamas is the most famous place in the world to dive with tiger sharks. At Tiger Beach, a shallow sand flat off the west end of Grand Bahama, tiger sharks come within arm's reach of divers, mostly from October to January, and researchers there have identified dozens of individuals by their markings. Since 2011 all Bahamian waters have been a shark sanctuary, which protects them from commercial fishing. IUCN status: Near Threatened.
Hammerhead Shark
Sphyrnidae (Sphyrna mokarran, S. lewini and others)
The Bahamas is the best place in the world to see the great hammerhead up close. Every winter, from about December to April, great hammerheads gather on the shallow sand flats off South Bimini, and divers can watch them glide over the white sand in just a few meters of water, as in the main photo on this page. All Bahamian waters have been a shark sanctuary since 2011, which protects them from fishing. IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
Parrotfish
Scaridae
The Bahamas has some of the most extensive shallow reefs in the Caribbean, and parrotfish are among the most visible fish on them. Stoplight, queen, princess and blue parrotfish graze across the reefs of Andros, the Exumas and Eleuthera. Their grazing keeps algae from overwhelming the coral, and over thousands of years the sand they produce has helped build the white sandbars and beaches the islands are famous for. IUCN status: varies by species.
Reef Shark
Several species (Carcharhinus melanopterus, C. perezi, C. amblyrhynchos, Triaenodon obesus)
The Bahamas is the best place in the world to see Caribbean reef sharks. Dive operators off New Providence, Grand Bahama and at Tiger Beach run shark dives where dozens gather around divers, and they are common on reefs all over the islands. Since 2011 all Bahamian waters have been a shark sanctuary, and studies estimate that shark tourism brings the country more than 100 million dollars a year. IUCN status: Endangered.
Bull Shark
Carcharhinus leucas
In the Bahamas the bull shark lives on the shallow banks and around the islands, and it is one of the large sharks divers can meet on guided dives, especially around Bimini in winter, where bull sharks gather alongside great hammerheads. Young sharks shelter in mangrove creeks. The Bahamas declared all its waters a shark sanctuary in 2011, banning commercial shark fishing, which protects bull sharks too. IUCN status: Vulnerable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What animals live in the Bahamas?
The Bahamas has few land animals but a very rich sea. On land, the best known are the flamingo, the national bird, and the Bahamian rock iguana, found on small cays in the Exumas and other islands. In the water live sea turtles, parrotfish, barracudas, bottlenose dolphins and several sharks, including reef, bull and great hammerhead sharks, protected since 2011. Humpback whales pass through in winter, and a few manatees visit the Berry Islands and Grand Bahama. Coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass meadows hold most of this wildlife.
What is the national animal of the Bahamas?
The national animal of the Bahamas is the flamingo, which is officially the national bird. It also appears on the Bahamian coat of arms. Almost all the flamingos in the country live on Great Inagua, the southernmost island, where Inagua National Park protects some 60,000 to 80,000 birds, the largest breeding colony of its kind in the world. In the 1950s hunting had left only about 5,000, so their return is one of the great conservation stories of the Caribbean.
Are flamingos dangerous?
No, flamingos are not dangerous to people. They have no teeth or claws, and their bent bill is made for filtering tiny crustaceans and algae from muddy water, not for biting. Wild flamingos are shy and usually walk or fly away when someone gets close, so in the Bahamas the best way to see them is from a distance, with a guide from Inagua National Park. Getting too close to a nesting colony can make the adults abandon their eggs, which is the real risk in any meeting between flamingos and people.
Are there dangerous animals in the Bahamas?
The dangerous animals of the Bahamas are in the sea, not on land, where there are no venomous snakes or large predators. Several large kinds of shark are common around the islands, especially at dive sites, but most of them keep their distance from swimmers. Large predatory fish can bite if a shiny object attracts them, though it seldom happens. Attacks on people are uncommon and most are linked to spearfishing or shark feeding, so swimmers and divers who follow local advice are very safe.
Where can you see wildlife in the Bahamas?
Each kind of Bahamas wildlife has its place. Flamingos are seen on Great Inagua, inside Inagua National Park. Bahamian rock iguanas live on the Allen Cays and other small cays of the Exumas, where boat tours stop to watch them. Bimini is famous for great hammerheads from December to April, for bull sharks and for wild dolphins. Sea turtles and parrotfish are easy to find on the reefs around Andros, Eleuthera and Abaco, and humpback whales can be spotted offshore in winter.
Researched and written by Juan Pablo. Sources: IUCN Red List, scientific literature and regional field guides. Last updated: .