Isla de Ratones (Spanish for mice island) is a small uninhabited island off the southern coast of Puerto Rico, off the coast of Ponce. The island is part of barrio Canas in the municipality of Ponce.Municipios, Municipio Subdivisions, Subbarrios, and Places - Section 14. U. S. Census Bureau. Census 2000. "Puerto Rico 2000: Population and Housing Unit Counts." Retrieved 11 October 2011.Puerto Rico 2000: Population and Housing Unit Counts. U.S. Census Bureau.Publication Number PHC-3-53. Published November 2003. Page F-17. Retrieved 22 September 2011. The island gained attention in 2010 when the Puerto Rican Bird Society made it a target for the eradication of the black rat. While named as one single island, it is actually composed of two islands separated by a few feet of shallow water during high tide, which become a single island at low tide.
Location The island, sometimes erroneously considered a key (or cay),El Boricua, Puerto Rican 101, retrieved 30 April 2011. is located 0.62 mi (1.0 km) south of the mainland Puerto Rican shore across from Punta Cucharas in barrio Canas.Panorama histórico forestal de Puerto Rico, Carlos Domínguez Cristóbal, p.393, retrieved 30 April 2011.West Indies Pilot, Volume 1, United States Hydrographic Office, p.599, Fourth Edition: 1922, retrieved 29 April 2011. The island has an area of 6.94 cuerdasNeysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce. Second Edition. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. 2002. Page 9. Printed by Impress Quality Printing, Bayamon, Puerto Rico. (one cuerda equals 0.97 acresUnitConversion.org, retrieved 29 April 2011.) It is located at latitude 17.95500° and longitude -66.68139°.Isla de Ratones, Traveling Luck, retrieved 30 April 2011. The short distance from the mainland shore makes Ratones a popular landing point for aquatic events such as kayaking.Kayaking to Cayo Ratones in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Eduardohv, retrieved 30 April 2011. Together with Caja de Muertos, Gatas, Morrillito, Cardona, Isla del Frio, and Isla de Jueyes, Ratones is one of seven islands in the municipality of Ponce.Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce, Second Edition, Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, 2002, p.9. Printed by Impress Quality Printing, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.CityMelt, retrieved 30 April 2011.
Geography and climate The island is a small low island covered mostly by brushwood.West Indies Pilot, Volume 1, United States Hydrographic Office, p.599, Fourth Edition: 1922, retrieved 30 April 2011. The climate is dry and the island supports dry forest. While named as one single island, it is actually composed of two islands separated by a few feet of shallow water during high tide, which become a single island at low time., United States Navy, retrieved 30 April 2011.Bookletchart: Bahia de Ponce and Approaches , U.S. Navy, Chart number 8, retrieved 30 April 2011. At low tide the size of the island increases from 6.94 cuerdasNeysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce, Second Edition, Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, 2002, p.9. Printed by Impress Quality Printing, Bayamon, Puerto Rico. (one cuerda equals 0.97 acresUnitConversion.org retrieved 29 April 2011.) to 12.35 acres.Restauran hábitat del lagartijo del seco Anolis cooki en la Isla de Cardona y Cayo Ratones, BirdLife International, 4 August 2010, retrieved 3 May 2011. This low-tide size makes Isla de Ratones about 50% larger than the more prominent Cardona which, at , is home to the Cardona Island Light and is located 2.96 miles (4.77 kilometers) to the east.Restauran hábitat del lagartijo del seco Anolis cooki en la Isla de Cardona y Cayo Ratones, BirdLife International, 4 August 2010, retrieved 3 May 2011.
Origin of the name The name Ratones, which translates into "mice", comes from the large number of rodents found in the island. In 2010, the Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (Puerto Rican Bird Society) and the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club launched a campaign to eradicate the black rat from the Island.Restauran hábitat del lagartijo del seco Anolis cooki en la Isla de Cardona y Cayo Ratones, 4 August 2010, retrieved 26 April 2011.
Nature reserve Though not officially a nature reserve, the island is administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
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