50 Shades of Green: St. Kitts and Nevis

At first glance, the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis look like the green section of a Crayola crayon set. All shades are visible: Fern, Granny Smith Apple, Medium Chrome Green, Sea Green, Forest Green, Shamrock, Mountain Meadow, etc. It’s no wonder the African Green Vervet Monkey thrives on these two islands. The monkeys are believed to have originally arrived on the island via slave ships. The island’s fertile soil and tropical climate created the perfect environment to grow sugar cane, so sugar and tobacco plantations were a key part of St. Kitts and Nevis’s history.  To provide the large amounts of labor needed for the industry, African slaves were imported in large numbers in the 1600s. read more