9 Islands Ruled by Creatures

nine islands ruled by animals number nine cat island it seems felines have taken over the island of tashirojima in Japan locals have turned the land over to thousands of cats who now apparently rule the roost or at least the litter box cats are thought to outnumber humans by six to one with the human population now numbering around a hundred the cats have managed to thrive due in large part to a belief in Japanese culture that cats are a good-luck charm bringing good fortune to all who encounter them and because of that visiting tourists always make sure the animals are well fed and fussed over the island even has houses shaped like cats where the animals can kick back in stock number right crab island located in the Indian Ocean Christmas Island has over 2,000 human inhabitants now contrast that to the population of red crabs that inhabit the fifty-two square mile island a hundred and twenty million of them each year the crustaceans migrate to the shores from the inner island to breed a some might find the sight of all those creatures marching to the beach to be a bit scary but hundreds of tourists are attracted to the island each year to witness the migration while the red crab may not quote-unquote rule the island when you outnumber humans a hundred and twenty million to two thousand well that ends a place on our list number seven for silent Assateague Island is an uninhabited 37 mile long expanse that's divided between Virginia and Maryland and its primary inhabitants wild horses that gallop about the beach you can see a few of the animals about to go for a swim in John River ellos photo the current equine population is thought to have descended from horses aboard a Spanish galleon that survived a shipwreck long ago and then just stayed put on the Isle ever since they're known to be friendly and spend the time doing what many of us might do on vacation wandering through Meadows or horsing around in the water number 6 Seal Island the Cape fur seals of South Africa have their own Island located only a few miles from Cape Town Seal Island is actually a small granite land form located inside false Bay that is home to the seals and serves as their main breeding site seals have weathered the harsh elements better than humans which drove away seal hunters in the early 20th century as well as attempts to build a radar installation during World War two the seals are usually left in peace however the surrounding waters are filled with great white sharks which are known to circle the island in what is affectionately called the ring of death any seal venturing too far into the waters will likely find itself a snack for those sharks number 5 rabbit island this is a forested idyllic enclave where dogs and cats are banned and it's hard to believe now but okunoshima Island in Japan was once the location of a poison gas factory producing mustard gas and tear gas during World War two it said that the rabbits were intentionally released when the island was reconfigured as a park after the war while many rabbits were used in chemical testing those animals were killed when the factory was rise rabbits found on the island today have no relation to those animals involved with chemical weapon testing you can see a couple of today's rabbits outside the factory ruins in this picture by all enjoy the animals are said to be very friendly and especially popular with tourists who bring a carrots number four monkey island on the island of Cayo Santiago in Puerto Rico over 1,000 rhesus macaque monkeys run free the descendants of 409 monkeys brought from India and deposited there in 1938 for scientific testing Cayo Santiago today serves as the University of Puerto Rico's Caribbean primate research center and if you want to see the monkeys you have to be a researcher to actually go ashore on the island but you can charter a boat to the island and watch the monkeys from a safe distance one reason for the restrictions is due to the fact that these monkeys naturally carry herpes be and that version of the virus can prove deadly to humans number three Pig Island the Bahamas is home to awesome weather beautiful beaches and a place called big major K in an uninhabited island in the eczema region you'll find those beautiful beaches often occupied by pigs who just might join you for a sunbathing session and how did those pigs get there well it's thought they either survived a shipwreck or were left behind by sailors who had brought them along for food the animals managed to survive by swimming the passing ships where tourists would cast them food as you can see in this photo by norm Lanier they're not shy about wading into the water the pigs also aren't shy about hopping into boats and searching for food and fYI these porkers are so popular they've inspired a children's book entitled the secret of pigs island and they have their own web page at number two snake island here's an island where you definitely better watch your step illa de Cuauhtemoc is located off the coast of Brazil and is best known as snake island due to the huge population of pit vipers found there inhabiting nearly all 110 acres are golden lancehead Viper z-- known as one of the world's deadliest venomous snakes the animals can grow to nearly 5 feet long and deliver a fast acting venom potent enough to melt the flesh surrounding the bites estimates put the number of snakes somewhere between 1 and 5 per square meter the snakes usually snack on migratory birds now if you're the dangerous seeking adventurous type and want to book a trip there well you can't accepting certain scientific outfits the Brazilian Navy has banned anyone from landing on the island number 1 penguin island did you know there's a small island located halfway between Antarctica and New Zealand that's lush and green and is home to some 4 million penguins it's called Macquarie Island and as you can see in these pictures of the island which is only 20 miles long is literally packed with penguins and while it might seem the birds have the beaches all to themselves the penguins do have to share the area with some 100,000 seals most of which are elephant seals the penguins also have to tolerate the presence of wildlife tourists anxious to see the animals in the natural habitat but Park Rangers do follow strict guidelines that limit the number of tourists allowed to come ashore at any one time given the islands location some 900 miles south of Australia you might not imagine seeing the verdict lush locations displayed in the pictures and given the shin numbers of penguins found here you might not imagine that demand for their fur and blubber in the early 20th century nearly resulted in the animals being hunted to distinction in the 1960s conservation measures were instituted which allowed the Penguins and the fellow island inhabitants to thrive and Macquarie Island received further safeguarding when it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997

Channel: Epic Wildlife

Views: 180,980

Rating: 4.8514285 out of 5

Keywords: Islands, ruled by, creatures, animals, weird, bizarre, overrun, critters, owned, control, island, isle, crab, cat island, penguin, explained, explain, world's biggest, snake island, world record, snakes, tourism, brazil, japan, naturel, wildlife, epic, fun, crazy, scary, epic wildlife, weird wonders, wednesdays, horses, seals, rabbits, monkey island, dominated, visitor, travel, traveling, swimming with pigs, christmas island, bahamas, thailand, tourists, True, awesome, banned, humans, lost, strange, islands ruled by animals

Id: 6_HWOZFMbG8

Length: 7min 50sec (470 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 03 2016