Catalina Island Report
...lants, like the Wild Tomato, and animals, but some can be overcome. Natural Resources Catalina has a great amount of resources such as metal, wood, and fish. The Island’s Flora Catalina Island has approximately 600 species of plants on Catalina and about 396 are native. Some examples of plants and trees are the Catalina Ironwood, St. Catherine’s Lace, Catalina Cherry, Prickly Pears, Manzanita, Lemon Grass, Mint, and Yerba Santa. Catalina Ironwood is a unique sub-species of ironwood that grew on abundantly on the mainland 20,000 years ago. This Tree exists nowhere else in the world but Catalina. St. Catherine’s Lace grows on dry, rocky slopes throughout Catalina’s interior. Color changes with the seasons – from white in the spring to beige, light brown, then deep russet in the fall. Catalina Cherry is the large-pitted fruit that is not particularly tasty, but was still an important fresh fruit of the Catalina Indians. It is used today as an ornamental tree for landscaping. Yerba Santa is an evergreen Shrub that has a pungent fragrance and sprawling growth habit. Yerba Santa occurs on Catalina and in coastal Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties. . The Island’s Fauna The Island is inhabited by goats, wild boar, red foxes, sea lions, deer, and even buffalo. Goats were most likely imported during the time the Spanish brought missionaries. There is no evidence showing that the Catalina Indians ate goat. Red Foxes are more or less scavengers because they eat what they find and they are native to Catalina Island. Wild Boar were imported during the mid-1920s to hold down the rattlesnake population. Sea Lions are Catalina’s more natural inhabitance. They come to Catalina to in late spring or early summer to mate each year. Deer were imported by the California Fish and Game Commission. There were 18 original mule deer brought to the Island. In 1924 when William Farnum was filming The Vanishing America, 14 head of buffalo were brought to the island. By 1934 the herd had increased to 19. Most of Catalina’s animals had been imported because of the starting of colonization. Catalina has a wide variety of amphibians and reptiles. There are Slender Salamander, Arboreal Salamander, Pacific Tree Frogs, Side-blotched Lizards, Alligator Lizards, Western Skink, Gopher Snakes, King Snakes, Ringneck Snakes, Western Rattlesnakes and garter Snakes. Birds found on Catalina are the Osprey, Bald Eagles, Pelicans and the California Quail. Marine Animals Catalina contains many marine animals that live around this near tropic island. The many species contains Garibaldi’s, Bluebanded Gobies, California Moray Eels, The horn shark, Pacific Anchovies, Jack Mackerel, Kelpfish, Two-Spot Octopus, California Spiny Lobster, Purple Sea Urchins, Bat Ray (AKA Eagle Ray), Kelp Bass, Black Sea Bass, and Zebra Gobies. The California Moray Eel has razor sharp teeth that are lined up in a row that can rip right through bone and tissue. The jaws of the Moray Eel is like a bear trap and will snap down and not let go to its prey. Anchovies are small salty fish. They are usually in large schools in bays, harbors, and coves. These Anchovies are fished all over the world and are sold usually in cans. Spiny Lobsters usually forge during night time and are fished and sold to sea food stores. The way to tell the difference between genders is the large swimmerettes on t...