Coiba National Park
| Coiba National Park | |||
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| Location: | Panama | ||
| Surface: | 2,701 km² | ||
| Founding: | 1992 | ||
The Coiba National Park , in the Spanish Parque Nacional Coiba , is located on the Pacific coast of Panama in the Gulf of Chiriquí and is named after the island of the same name, which is part of the national park . Administratively it belongs to the provinces of Veraguas and Chiriquí . In total, the national park covers an area of 2,701 km² with a further 38 smaller islands and a larger area of the Pacific, which includes a large coral reef . It is considered to be one of the largest maritime national parks in the world. It has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2005 .
history
Originally the park area was inhabited by the Cacique Coiba , an indigenous people . The conquest took place around 1560. In 1918 Panama took possession of the island and turned it into a penal colony, where up to 3,000 prisoners were housed during his heyday. In 1992 the Coiba National Park was founded, which then also included the islands of Rancheria, Jicaron, Jicarita, Canal de Afuera, Uva, Contreras, Pajaros and Brincanco. The national park was declared in its current size in 2001 by HL Freidi Torres .
fauna and Flora
The island of Coiba was separated from the mainland about 12,000–15,000 years ago, and in the following years numerous species were able to develop there in isolation as endemic species or subspecies. 147 species of birds live on Coiba. Among other things, a subspecies of the red cap woodpecker Melanerpes rubricapillus subfusculus is endemic . Of the mammal species such as the Coiba- apply agouti ( Dasyprocta coibae ), the Coiba howler monkey ( Alouatta coibensis ) or a subspecies of Südopossums ( Didelphis marsupialis battyi ) and the white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus rothschildi ) as endemic. The number of plant species is estimated at around 1,450. The maritime areas of the national park are also characterized by an extraordinary biodiversity. The estimated 760 species of fish include 23 species of whales and dolphins and 33 species of sharks .
Web links
- Official homepage of the national park
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
Heritage: Portobello and San Lorenzo forts on the Caribbean coast (1980, R ) | Panama City Historic District , Salón Bolívar and Panamá Viejo Archaeological Sites (1997)
Natural heritage: Darién National Park (1981) | Talamanca Mountains and La Amistad National Park (1983) | Coiba National Park and its marine protected areas (2005)