Monte Pascoal National Park, also known as Parque Nacional e Histórico do Monte Pascoal in Portuguese, is located in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

Location

The National and Historical Park is located in the Atlantic Forest biome. It spans an area of 22,332 hectares (55,180 acres), with 8,627 hectares (21,320 acres) overlapping the Barra Velha Indigenous Land. The park was established by decree 242 on November 29, 1961, and later changed by decree 3.421 on April 20, 2000. It is managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation. The park became part of the Central Atlantic Forest Ecological Corridor, created in 2002. It includes areas within the municipalities of Porto Seguro and Prado in the state of Bahia.

The park is part of the Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves, a group of eight protected areas covering 112,000 hectares (280,000 acres) of the Atlantic Forest biome. This group was recognized as a World Heritage Site. The park is named after Monte Pascoal, the first land sighted by the Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral.

Conservation

The park is designated as an IUCN protected area category II, which is a type of national park. Its goals include protecting natural areas that are important for the environment and have beautiful scenery, as well as supporting scientific research, environmental education, outdoor activities, and eco-tourism.

Birds protected in the reserve include the red-browed amazon (Amazona rhodocorytha), white-necked hawk (Buteogallus lacernulatus), ringed woodpecker (Celeus torquatus), black-headed berryeater (Carpornis melanocephala), red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii), banded cotinga (Cotinga maculata), band-tailed antwren (Myrmotherula urosticta), and the ochre-marked parakeet (Pyrrhura cruentata). Other protected species include the jaguar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma concolor), giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus), the fish Mimagoniates sylvicola, and the ant Dinoponera lucida.