Wildlife
Fauna is sparse on the island due to a combination of lack of vegetation and the consequences of phosphates mining. Many indigenous birds have disappeared or become rare owing to destruction of their habitat. The scarcity of greenery in Nauru is the chief reason for the absence of wildlife on the island. Small rodents like rats, etc. are present. Hogs and poultry were introduced among Nauru animal. The diversity of the reef marine life makes fishing a popular activity for tourists on the island, as well as SCUBA diving and snorkeling.
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Famous quotes containing the word wildlife:
“Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are layed waste, rivers grow shallow and dry up, marvelous landscapes are disappearing forever.... Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)