A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the tail cannot be used for this it is considered only partially prehensile - such tails are often used to anchor an animal's body to dangle from a branch, or as an aid for climbing. The term prehensile means "able to grasp".
Manú National Park is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects diverse ecosystems such as lowland rainforests, cloud forests and Andean grasslands.
Golfito is a district and port town of the Golfito canton, in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica, located on the southern Pacific Coast, near the border of Panama.
Trinidad and Tobago are continental islands with a geologically very recent history of direct land bridge connection to South America. As a result, unlike most of the Caribbean Islands, Trinidad and Tobago supports a primarily South American flora and fauna and has greater diversity of plant and animal species than the Antilles. However, rates of endemism are lower than in the rest of the Caribbean because there has been less time for genetic isolation from mainland populations because of the history of land bridge connections and hence fewer opportunities for speciation, and so a greater proportion of the species in Trinidad and Tobago are also found on the South American mainland. Trinidad is nearer to mainland South America and has been directly connected to the mainland via land bridges more often and for longer periods than Tobago. This, as well as Trinidad's larger size and more varied topography and hydrology compared to that of Tobago allow greater species and ecosystem diversity on the former compared to that on the later of the islands.
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 the North and South American continents, its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica is home to more than 500,000 species, which represents nearly 5% of the total 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.
Corcovado National Park is a National Park on the Osa Peninsula in Osa Canton, southwestern Costa Rica, which is part of the Osa Conservation Area. It was established on 24 October 1975, and encompasses an area of 424 square kilometres (164 sq mi). It is the largest park in Costa Rica and protects about a third of the Osa Peninsula. It is widely considered the crown jewel in the extensive system of national parks and biological reserves spread across the country. The ecological variety is quite stunning. National Geographic has called it "the most biologically intense place on Earth in terms of biodiversity". Not only is the park very popular with tropical ecologists, a visitor can expect to see an abundance of wildlife.
Golfo Dulce is a gulf in Costa Rica, located at the South of the Province of Puntarenas. The inlet starts on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica and extends slightly northward before turning west. The most westward part is at the city of Rincon. The bay separates the Osa Peninsula from the mainland Costa Rica.
Osa Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by SINAC for the purposes of conservation in Costa Rica, on the southern Pacific coast region. It contains two National Parks, and numerous Wildlife refuges and other types of nature reserve.
La Gamba is a village in the Guaycará District of Golfito canton, which is part of Puntarenas Province of Costa Rica. Village inhabitants are employed in agriculture and in jobs offered in cities such as Golfito and Rio Claro.
Field Station La Gamba, in the “Rainforest of the Austrians” in Costa Rica, is an Austrian research, teaching and continuing-education institution, whose mission is to contribute to research on tropical rainforests, to generate interest in conservation and in rainforest research, and to give interested persons an opportunity to deepen their appreciation of nature within the rainforest.
The wildlife of Liberia consists of the flora and fauna of the Republic of Liberia. This West African nation has a long Atlantic coastline and a range of habitat types, with a corresponding diversity of plants and animals. Liberia is considered a biodiversity hotspot and has more intact forests characteristic of the Upper Guinea Massif than do neighbouring countries. There are 2000 species of vascular plants, approximately 140 species of mammals, and over 600 species of birds.
Wildlife of the Gambia is dictated by several habitat zones over its total land area of about 10,000 km2. It is bound in the south by the savanna and on the north by the Sudanian woodlands. The habitats host abundant indigenous plants and animals, in addition to migrant species and newly planted species. They vary widely and consist of the marine system, coastal zone, estuary with mangrove vegetation coupled with Banto Faros, river banks with brackish and fresh water zones, swamps covered with forests and many wetlands.
Rainforest of the Austrians is an environment protection project was founded by Michael Schnitzler, an Austrian violinist and grandson of the poet Arthur Schnitzler, as a non-profit organization. Its goal is raising funds to buy properties in the Esquinas Rainforest which is 146.7 square kilometres big and located in the south of Costa Rica. These properties become part of the Piedras Blancas National Park. This area of the rainforest was owned by local farmers.
Craugastor taurus is a species of frog in the family Craugastoridae. It is found in the Golfo Dulce region of southern Costa Rica and adjacent western Panama. It is sometimes known as the Golfito robber frog.
Morrocoy National Park is located in the easternmost coast of Falcón state and northwestern of Golfo Triste, in the west central Venezuelan coast, near the towns of Boca de Aroa, Tucacas, Sanare, Chichiriviche, Flamenco and Tocuyo de la Costa, and consists of 12,990 hectares. It was declared a national park on May 26, 1974 by Executive Order No. 113, Official Gazette No. 30408 on May 27, 1974.
Michael Schnitzler is an Austrian American ecologist and musician.
Playa Cativo is located in the Golfo Dulce, in Costa Ricas' south Pacific. Its name, Cativo, comes from a tree: Prioria Copaifera. The surrounding waters are part of the Piedras Blancas National Park to protect the needle-fish spawning grounds. A former extension of Corcovado National Park, Piedras Blancas National Park has over 35,000 acres of rainforest that surrounds Playa Cativo and was created in 1993 to protect the lowland tropical rainforest in the Golfo Dulce. Accessible only by boat, Playa Cativo was awarded the Ecologic Blue Flag for its cleanliness and sustainability practices. Because of the variety of micro climates, including wetlands, and the fact that is a gathered point for birds from North and South America, this area is considered a bird watcher's paradise. The four species of monkeys of Costa Rica has been seen there and about three families of hauler monkeys stay year round near the shore. The beach was originally a family farm and in the early 70's was sold. In 1980 was built the Rainbow Lodge in Playa Cativo, followed by the Buenavista Lodge. In July 2014 Playa Cativo Lodge opened after a full renovation. Playa Cativo's residents are committed to preserve the area as untouched as possible, and have established many sustainable practices and was recently awarded the Ecologic Blue Flag by the Costa Rica government. Among other actions, was created a recycle hub center as a free service for the people from the nearby beaches and communities. The electric power at Cativo is 100% clean and comes from an hydroelectric micro-generator and solar panels. The water source comes from a spring in the mountains behind Cativo beach and is clean and clear. Some of the all fruit trees still in the property, providing fresh organic fruits to visitors. Its tranquil waters are perfect for sea kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, swimming and snorkeling. As there are no roads to Playa Cativo, a 30 minutes scenic boat ride will take residents to Golfito or Puerto Jimenez, and often are seen dolphins and the seasonal humpback whales. Golfo Dulce, also known as Gulf of Dulce, is in the inner side of Osa Peninsula and across from Corcovado National Park.
Misión Tiburón is a non profit organisation established in 2009, based on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Founded by marine biologists and conservationists Ilena Zanella and Andres Lopez, the organisation focuses on marine research concerning sharks, sea turtles and rays as well as education programs targeted at local coastal communities.
The Moist Pacific Coast mangroves ecoregion covers a series of disconnected mangrove sites along the Pacific Ocean coast of Costa Rica and Panama. These sites occur mostly on coastal flatlands around lagoons, particularly where rivers from the inland mountains reach the sea, bringing fresh water to the coastal forests. The area is in a transition zone from the drier coastline to the north; rainfall in this ecoregions is over 2,000 mm/year, and reaches over 3,600 mm/year at the southern end.
