Biodiversity
Carara National Park contains more primary rainforest than the relatively close Manuel Antonio National Park. As such, it is wetter than the more popular Manuel Antonio National Park, and has denser tree growth and more mosquitoes and other insects. This environment makes Carara a haven for many bird species making it one of the best park for birdwatching in the entire country with a staggering number of 432 confirmed species. [3] In addition to scarlet macaws, birds found in Carara include orange-chinned parakeets and other parrots, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, motmots, jacamars, manakins, antbirds, and several species of trogon, including the Northern black-throated trogon. Several species of water birds inhabit the park as well. These include the anhinga, several species of heron, egret and kingfishers.
Among the reptiles present in the park are the American crocodile and several snake and lizard species. The Tarcoles River, which forms the northern boundary of the park, is inhabited by crocodiles throughout most of the year., [4] the park has the largest population of Central America crocodiles [5] and 52 species of snakes and other reptiles such as lizards, geckos, etc.
Green and black poison arrow frogs are among the amphibians present. Mammals include white-tailed deer, red brockets, collared peccaries, agouti, kinkajous, Panamanian white-faced capuchin monkeys, mantled howler monkeys, Hoffmann's two-toed sloths and brown-throated three-toed sloths, white-nosed coatis and the recently rediscovered [6] pumas, However, mammals can be difficult to see due to the dense tree cover.
Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It has 212 km of Caribbean Sea coastline and 1,016 on the North Pacific Ocean.
The scarlet macaw is a large yellow, red and blue Neotropical parrot native to humid evergreen forests of the Americas. Its range extends from southeastern Mexico to Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela and Brazil in lowlands of 500 m (1,600 ft) up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), the Caribbean island of Trinidad, as well as the Pacific island of Coiba. Formerly, the northern extent of its range included southern Tamaulipas. In some areas, it has suffered local extinction because of habitat destruction, or capture for the parrot trade, but in other areas, it remains fairly common. It is the national bird of Honduras. Like its relative the blue-and-yellow macaw, the scarlet macaw is a popular bird in aviculture as a result of its striking plumage. It is the third most common macaw species in captivity after the Blue and Gold and Greenwing Macaw respectively. In recent years it has become much rarer in captivity and much more expensive due to its placement on CITES Appendix I. In some countries its price is double the price of a Greenwing or up to four times the price of a blue and gold, but in the United States they are still cheaper than in other countries because of an already existing large avicultural population.
Manu National Park is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and Andean grasslands.
The wildlife of Costa Rica comprises all naturally occurring animals, fungi and plants that reside in this Central American country. Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between North and South America, its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica is home to more than 500,000 species, which represent nearly 5% of the species estimated worldwide, making Costa Rica one of the 20 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. Of these 500,000 species, a little more than 300,000 are insects.
Tapantí - Cerro de la Muerte Massif National Park,, is a national park in the Central Conservation Area of Costa Rica located on the edge of the Talamanca Range, near Cartago. It protects forests to the north of Chirripó National Park, and also contains part of the Orosí River. The area known as Cerro de la Muerte Massif was added to the park on January 14, 2000.
Maquenque Wildlife Refuge, is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area, it was created in 2005 by decree 32405-MINAE.
The Tárcoles River, also called the Grande de Tárcoles River or the Río Grande de Tarcoles, in Costa Rica originates on the southern slopes of the Cordillera Central volcanic range and flows in a south-westerly direction to the Gulf of Nicoya. The river is 111 kilometres (69 mi) long and its watershed covers an area of 2,121 square kilometres (819 sq mi), which encompasses around 50% of the country's population.
Guanacaste Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by the Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion (SINAC) of Costa Rica for conservation in the northwestern part of Costa Rica. It contains three national parks, as well as wildlife refuges and other nature reserves. The area contains the Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site, which comprises four areas.
Piedras Blancas National Park is a national park part of the Osa Conservation Area. It is found in the Puntarenas Province of southern Costa Rica near the town of La Gamba. It protects rainforests and beaches near the Golfo Dulce on the Pacific Coast. It used to operate as part of the Corcovado National Park called the Esquinas Sector from 1991 before becoming a separate park in 1999. Until the mid-1990s, much of the forest in the park was severely endangered by logging.
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park is one of Florida's oldest continuously running attractions, having opened on May 20, 1893. It has 24 species of crocodilians, and also a variety of other reptiles, mammals and birds, as well as exhibits, animal performances and educational demonstrations.
The fauna of Nicaragua is characterized by a very high level of biodiversity. Much of Nicaragua's wildlife lives in protected areas. There are currently 78 protected areas in Nicaragua, covering more than 22,000 square kilometers (8,500 sq mi), or about 17% of its landmass.
Indio Maíz Biological Reserve is situated on the southeastern corner of Nicaragua bordering the San Juan River and Costa Rica. Measuring about 3,180 square kilometers, it is one of the largest protected lowland forest system in Central America, the second largest lowland rainforest reserve in Nicaragua and is a key component in the proposed Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. It has previously been referred to as "the gem of Central American nature reserves" by UCLA biologists. Indio Maíz is rich in biodiversity, holding a higher number in species of trees, birds, and insects than all of Europe. In recent years, a growing timber and oil palm industry has led to increasing rates of deforestation along the northern and western flanks of Indio Maíz.
Cali Zoo is located in the city of Cali in the country of Colombia. The Zoo belongs to a foundation that carries its name and whose mission, since it took the zoo's administration in 1981, has been to improve the animals' diet, their natural environment, and the medical care of the existing fauna.
The fauna of Colombia is characterized by a high biodiversity, with the highest rate of species by area unit worldwide.
Soberanía National Park is a national park in Panama near the banks of the Panama Canal in the provinces of Panamá and Colón, some 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Panama City. The Chagres River runs through the park. Established as a national park in 1980, the park covers 55,000 acres (220 km2).
Tortuguero National Park is a national park in the Limón Province of Costa Rica. It is situated within the Tortuguero Conservation Area of the northeastern part of the country. Despite its remote location, reachable only by airplane or boat, it is the third-most visited park in Costa Rica. The park has a large variety of biological diversity due to the existence within the reserve of eleven different habitats, including rainforest, mangrove forests, swamps, beaches, and lagoons. Located in a tropical climate, it is very humid, and receives up to 250 inches (6,400 mm) of rain a year.
Uvita de Osa is a small town in southern Costa Rica, on a section of coastline known as the Bahía Ballena. It is notable for hosting the annual music event and being home to the Cola de Ballena beach which is one of the beaches comprising Marino Ballena National Park. The Whale's Tail has been described as one of the world's most beautiful beaches. Uvita is a good place to see humpback whales in the wild, as there are groups which come from Northern California and Alaska during one time of the year and groups that come from the south and Antarctica during another time of the year. Uvita has grown tremendously since the early 2000s and is the commercial center of the Costa Ballena region. Many expatriates from North America and Europe have made Uvita their home, so many of the locals speak English as well as Spanish.
The flora and fauna of Honduras reflects the country's geographical location inside the tropics. This has allowed for diverse species of plants and animals to be adapted, but some of them are now in danger of extinction. This has posed the Honduran government, offices and nature organizations to look after the protection of the local environment, like the creation of nature reserves.
Parque Nacional Simón Bolívar is an urban park of approximately 14 hectares, located in downtown San José, Costa Rica. It is the oldest botanical garden and zoo in Costa Rica. The name pays homage to Latin American national founder Simón Bolívar. It is administered by a conservation nonprofit foundation called Fundazoo. All animals in the zoo are orphaned, injured or have been disabled and are nursed back to health in hopes of releasing them.
The Rio Negro-Rio San Sun mangroves ecoregion covers a series of small of discontinuous mangrove forests on the Caribbean Sea coast of Costa Rica, from a small portion inside the border with Nicaragua in the west to the border with Panama in the east. The coast on this stretch is a flat, alluvial plain, and mangroves are only a small part of a diverse patchwork of local habitats including swamps, mixed rainforests, coastal lagoons, sea grass beds, and sandy beaches. Much of the territory is "blackwater river" in character - slow-moving channels in wooded swamps with water stained by decayed matter. These mangroves are periodically damaged by hurricanes, such as in 1988 from Hurricane Joan, but are able to regenerate.
Scarlet macaws are one of the chief attractions in Carara National Park.
King vulture sighted in the area
Chestnut backed Antshrike
Puma
