Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile

Poor Alexander was faced with a tough choice: stay on an unseaworthy buccaneer ship OR get left on an isolated island in the South Pacific and perhaps die of hunger and thirst. He chose the latter.

It was in the year 1704 when Thomas Stradling, the captain of the Cinque Ports, had enough of Alexander Selkirk’s dissent and complaints. Before he knew it, the Scotsman was marooned on a deserted island with a musket, some gun powder, carpenter’s tools, a knife and a Bible. While the Cinque Ports sank shortly after, Alexander carved out a living for himself on an uninhabited island in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago, 670 km (416 mi) off the west coast of Chile. He survived four years and four months in isolation until William Dampier, the overall commander of the ill-fated Cinque Ports’ expedition, returned to the island to see if Alexander was still alive. To his surprise, Alexander was doing well despite his hardship, surviving on fish, berries, and wild goats. Wearing goat skins and looking a little wild, he was returned to London where he became a celebrity.

Robinson Crusoe Island is part of Chile and a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

It is believed that the British author Daniel Dafoe learned about Alexander’s adventure and based his famous novel Robinson Crusoe on the story. The book was published in 1719 and was so successful, that 4 editions sold out in the first year after publication. Since then, Robinson Crusoe has become the second-most translated book (after the Bible) in history.

Of course, there are discrepancies between fact and fiction, but they were not reason enough for the Chilean Government not to change the name of the island from Más a Tierra to Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966. This beautiful and isolated piece of earth is now home to over 800 Chileans who eek out a living by catching spiny lobsters and offering recreational diving services to tourists in the island’s crystal clear sub-tropical waters.

In 1977, Robinson Crusoe Island was recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve, making it also a destination for researchers to whom the island’s endemic flora and fauna is of extreme scientific importance. The relative lack of outside interference has allowed plants, insects and birds on Robinson Crusoe Island to evolve in almost total isolation. It is a living laboratory similar to the famous Galapagos Islands.

This valley is home to many endemic species which can only be found on Robinson Crusoe Island. In the foreground is “giant rhubarb” or “dinosaur food” (Gunnera peltata). The leaves can reach a diameter of up to 2 m (6.5 ft).

An example of a rare species that is unique to the island and found nowhere else on earth is the Juan Fernandez Firecrown hummingbird. With a mere 400 specimens left, it is considered critically endangered. In the 300 years since Alexander’s captivity on the island, rats, domesticated cats and dogs as well as invasive plant species such as eucalyptus trees, blackberry bushes and pine trees have changed the island’s natural habitat, making it increasingly difficult for the tiny birds to find sustenance and raise their young. It is a familiar, but nevertheless painful story for this and other rare species.

As I sit on the ground and look through the view finder of my camera, trying to capture a photo of these rare hummingbirds, something passes between my legs. Perplexed, I look and see a cat beside me. I am surprised and angry to see this domesticated predator run free in this National Park and biosphere reserve. Surely, given all we know about the devastating effects introduced species have on the natural world and all the efforts made to save the Juan Fernandez Firecrown from extinction, why is this cat not at home chewing on Meow Mix?

Robinson Crusoe Island is home to over 800 Chileans who catch spiny lobsters for a living and offer recreational diving services to the few tourists that find their way to this remote island. This road serves as a main tsunami escape route during an emergency.

I am certain Alexander didn’t have these thoughts when he was trying to survive on the island. In the early 18th century, protecting biospheres was a foreign concept, especially to a lawless buccaneer like Mr. Selkirk. But the world is a different place now, and we have to do whatever we can to preserve what is left of the world’s relatively intact ecosystems. I think I’ll take my weed eater and chainsaw to Robinson Crusoe Island and hack away at the blackberries, cut down eucalyptus trees and start an educational campaign for pet owners. That would be a worthwhile retirement project, don’t you think?

More pictures can be seen on this website on the page “Gallery Archive - Central & South America III”.

~ RT