The Jardín Botánico Nacional and the Museo de Historia Natural, Santo Domingo, have a full classification of the Republic’s flora. Of interest are the 67 types and 300 species of orchid found in this part of Hispaniola; there are a number of gardens which specialize in their cultivation. The most popular are Oncidium henekenii, Polyradicium lindenii and Leonchilus labiatus. The Jardín Botánico holds an orchid show each year. The national plant is the caoba (mahogany). There is a wide variety of palms, some of which grow only on Hispaniola.

The four main types of turtle living off the Dominican coast are the leatherback (the largest living turtle), the loggerhead (found in lagoons and coastal bays), the hawksbill (prized for its beautiful shell) and the green sea turtle (hunted for calipee, a glutinous yellow substance used to make soup).

Lago Enriquillo is now four times saltier than the sea - due in large part to the diversion of streams feeding into the lake for irrigation purposes - which has put the younger crocodile population under real threat. Take my word for it that any crocodiles you see will be American crocodiles. If you don't believe me, get as close as you dare and look for the fourth tooth protruding above the level of the upper jaw. American crocodiles also have an olive-brown shade and an obvious swelling on the snout in front of the eye sockets. An average length for a female is 2.5 meters, but males can grow to about 4 meters. Although they are reputed to be a threat to man, attacks are rare and American crocodiles stick to their normal diet of fish, turtles and the occasional dog or goat. They often hunt at night and spend the hottest parts of the day in deeper areas of water. The best time to see them on land is during the early morning or late afternoon when they emerge from the water to raise their body temperature under the sun's rays.

One of the discoveries made by Charles Darwin during his voyages on the Beagle was that there are three kinds of reef. The first is known as the fringing reef, which is what you see if you go snorkelling just off the shore. The fringing reef is always connected to the mainland, but can extend quite far out to sea. It has a variety of coral types and species, and for the uninitiated it is a great place to see some underwater life. Beyond the fringing reef across the lagoon - an area of shallow water with a floor of coral sand and debris - you will come to the barrier reef or, as is more common in Caribbean and tropical Atlantic waters, the bank/barrier reef. The difference between the two is their size: the barrier reef, found mainly in the Pacific, is larger than the bank/barrier reef and is separated by lagoons thousands of meters wide, as opposed to the hundreds which separate the bank/barrier reef from the mainland. This type of reef is home to more species than the fringing reef, but you will need a boat to get out to it. The third type of reef is the atoll, an incomplete ring of sandy islands built up on coral reefs surrounding a submerged volcano. They are usually found far from any continent or large island and are rare in the Caribbean. The closest atoll to the Dominican Republic lies off the coast of Belize.

Species of the coral reef

There are hundreds of species in both the fringing reef and the bank/barrier reef. These include corals, sponges, worms, mollusks, crabs, lobsters and fish. There are basically two types of coral. Both photosynthesize the energy of the sun and excrete limestone from the calcium carbonate in the water. In the case of hard corals, this limestone creates a skeleton which encloses the animal altogether and eventually builds up to form the reef itself. Soft corals, meanwhile, have no such skeleton and resemble plants. However, the creation and maintenance of the reef depends on more than just the hard coral; instead, it is a team effort. Several types of algae also help to bind and solidify the reef's frame, while mollusks, crustaceans, sea urchins, starfish and sponges all anchor to the reef, thereby helping to line and protect it. At the same time other species dependent on the reef for their survival, such as the fireworm, the coral snail, the green reef crab and, most notoriously, the parrotfish, are ironically doing their best to destroy it by living off the coral tissue. It is estimated that for every acre of reef, one ton of solid coral skeleton is converted into fine sand every year. The major culprit is the parrotfish.

One of the principal breeding grounds in the world for humpback whales is on the Silver and Navidad banks off the north coast of the Dominican Republic. Each winter some 3,000 whales migrate from their feeding grounds in the North Atlantic, and congregate here to reproduce in shallow waters protected by coral reefs and free of boats and other distractions. Nearer to the mainland, Samana Bay is also a popular spot for whale watching, which has become an important tourist activity during the months of January, February and March click. The humpback is one of the larger species of whale, measuring from 12-15 meters and weighing up to 60 tons. Adult humpbacks are dark gray, while their calves are a lighter color. Although their name would suggest otherwise, humpbacks do not actually have a humped back. It only looks as though they do when they jump out of the water with arched backs. Other distinguishing features are their knobby heads, long, white flippers and large tails. Moreover, unlike all other toothed whales, the humpback has two blowholes rather than one. Humpbacks do not eat during their stay in Hispaniolan waters. Instead, they live off the 15-20 centimeters of fat accumulated during the feeding season by eating about a ton of food a day. Most of this turns to fat, and is the equivalent of a human daily diet of 8,000 hamburgers. The humpback's preference, however, is small fish and crustaceans called krill (about 6 centimeters long and resembling shrimps). While adult humpbacks reproduce and diet, the newly born calves drink 50 gallons of milk a day. This milk, produced by the mother, is about 50% fat, allowing the calves to grow big enough to survive the journey back to the feeding grounds in the north.