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The Îles de Petite-Terre is a group of two islands (Terre de Haut and Terre de Bas), in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It forms part of Guadeloupe,[2] an overseas region of France.[3] surounded by coral receef. The national nature reserve of the islands of Petite-Terre was created in 1998.

Fauna and flora

The fauna of the two islands is essentially composed of Lesser Antillean iguana with 9,500 individuals, migratory birds and sea turtles previously hunted for their eggs, their fat and their shells. Beliefs even lend aphrodisiac virtues to the turtles' penises. The richness of the fauna is completed by a great variety of fish species and larvae protected from the swell by the lagoon and the coral reef. The island of Terre-de-Bas also hosts an endemic species of scorpion, the Oiclus.

Green turtle from the ïles de Petite Terre - Gouadeloupe - France

At the same time, the flora is very abundant and, for example, the guaiac tree - a protected species that has practically disappeared from the Lesser Antilles -, which was once used to make billiard balls and pulleys, and the agave, which blooms only once in its life, are protected species. Thus, for ecological reasons, to regulate the influx of tourists and for better conservation of this fauna and flora, the islands of Petite-Terre have been classified as a nature reserve since September 1998, with an extension to the 842-hectare marine area surrounding the two islets

The Arawaks and the Kalinagos occupied the archipelago between 500 and 1500. The economy was based on livestock, fishing, trade and cotton cultivation, which was made possible by the collection of rainwater in cisterns.

Rediscovered by Christopher Columbus, the islands were not occupied until the 18th century due to a lack of drinking water. Human occupation ceased definitively in 1972. From now on, only the guardians of the national nature reserve of the islands of Petite-Terre, created in 1998, reside there.