Tortuguero National Park is a protected area in the Limón Province of Costa Rica. It is located in the Tortuguero Conservation Area, which is in the northeastern part of the country. Even though it is far from cities and can only be reached by airplane or boat, it is the third-most visited park in Costa Rica. The park has many different types of plants and animals because it includes eleven different environments, such as rainforests, mangrove forests, swamps, beaches, and lagoons. It has a warm and wet climate, and it receives up to 250 inches (6,400 mm) of rain each year.
Tortuguero National Park is part of the northeastern Caribbean wetlands and was recognized by the Ramsar Convention on March 3, 1991, because of its rich variety of plants and animals, as well as its important ecosystems that support species in danger of disappearing. Located along the Caribbean coast, the park connects to another protected area, the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve in Nicaragua. It is an important Ramsar Site.
Geography
Tortuguero National Park is located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and covers an area of about 77,032 acres (31,174 hectares). The park has an elevation range from 0 to 230 meters (0 to 755 feet), which shows the area includes coastal regions and low hills. The park has over 20 miles of coastline, providing a safe place for sea turtles to lay their eggs. To the north of the park is the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge, which has similar habitats and climate. To the south, the park is bordered by the mouth of the Parismina River, the Cariari National Wetlands, the town of Tortuguero at the mouth of the Tortuguero River, and the Dr. Archie Carr Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is a research station where scientists tag sea turtles as part of a program now managed by the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
Volcanic activity formed small islands, but erosion created depressions with a permeable base made of light grey, broken lava rocks. Sandy soils from sedimentation are common in the reserve, with parallel bars along the coast. The depressions can fill with water from temporary floods, creating estuary lakes, grassy marshes, and wooded swamps due to heavy rain. Small tides of about 40 centimeters (16 inches) affect the coastal area. Rivers and streams flowing through the park are typically 3 meters (9.8 feet) deep. Lakes in the northern part of the reserve are fed by the Colorado River. The tropical forest is very humid, with thin soils and rapid drainage. The area has over 330 days of cloud cover each year, and moisture-laden winds come from the Caribbean.
The park works with the nearby village of Tortuguero to teach residents that protecting natural resources is important for encouraging eco-tourism. The park receives about 250 inches (6,400 mm) of rain each year, which feeds many rivers. The park has many connected canals, waterways, and navigable lagoons and lakes that form plains shaped by river systems. These plains are surrounded by rolling hills of forest created long ago by volcanic cinder cones, such as Tortuguero Hill and the Lomas de Sierpe, which are 1,000 feet (300 meters) high.
Protecting the park has been difficult. Parts of the park have been illegally cleared, which harms the habitat of endangered sea turtles.
Fauna and flora
Tortuguero National Park is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including birds, mammals, fungi, ferns, marine life, sea turtles, lakes, and rainforests. The park serves as a refuge for many species also found in La Selva Biological Station and Braulio Carrillo National Park. Threatened animal species in the reserve include the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), marine turtles such as Chelonia mydas and Dermochelys coriacea, the manatee or sea cow (Trichechus manatus) (the northeastern Caribbean wetland is its local feeding and reproduction area), and the tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus), a living fossil protected by Costa Rican laws. The park is a breeding ground along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica for many fish used in subsistence fishing.
The coastal zone, which has a long beach extending nearly 22 miles (35 km), is a nesting area for turtles known as "beach-nesting turtles (tortugas)." These turtles are found on beaches and along canal banks. The main species that lay eggs between February and July are hawksbill, loggerhead, green, and leatherback turtles.
Rivers in the park support sensitive populations of manatees, as well as caimans, crocodiles, and tropical gar. Forests are home to at least four Costa Rican cat species: jaguars (Panthera onca), ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), jaguarundis (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), and pumas (Puma concolor). Three of Costa Rica's four monkey species also live here: Geoffroy's spider monkey, the mantled howler, and the white-headed capuchin. Other mammals include three-toed sloths (Bradypus variegatus), pacas (Agouti paca), peccaries (Tayassu pecari), tapirs (Tapirus bairdii), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus).
The area is home to 442 bird species, including kingfishers, toucans, great blue herons, and parrots. Neotropical migratory birds pass through the park, including the crested eagle (Morphnus guianensis), the second-largest bird of prey. An endangered species is the great green macaw (Ara ambiguus). A total of 134 migratory bird species have been recorded, and the park serves as a stopover for nearly one million birds each year.
As of 1976, 54 freshwater fish and 84 marine species were recorded in the area. Another source lists 30 freshwater fish species. Some families of marine and freshwater fish include Cichlidae, Characidae, Pimelodidae, Carcharhinidae, Centropomidae, and Lutjanidae. Species include the bobo mullet (Joturus pichardi), which breeds in estuaries but migrates upriver. Other species include eels, bull sharks (Carcharinus leucas), tarpon (Megalops atlanticus), snook (Centropomus parallelus), and tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus). As of 1995, only one freshwater mollusk species had been found in the park, a small bivalve identified as either Mytilopsis guianensis or M. sallei, though at least 10 species were estimated to exist. A variety of crustaceans are also present, including shrimp species such as Macrobrachium carcinus and M. tenellum, which are fished by local communities near the park.
The park is home to 54 amphibian species and 110 reptile species. Seven land turtle species are also found here. Reported reptiles and amphibians include Caiman crocodilus, Crocodylus acutus, basilisk lizards, Chrysemys spp., Rhinoclemmys spp., poison-dart frogs (Dendrobatidae), and many endemic salamander species.
As of 2006, the park is known to have 779 plant species, 36 of which are endemic to Costa Rica. Other sources estimate the park has more than 400 tree species and about 2,200 other plant species. The wet lowland Atlantic slopes of northern Costa Rica, especially along the coast, form mangrove forests. These forests include species such as gavilán (Pentaclethra macroloba), caobilla (Carapa nicaraguensis), almendro (Dipteryx oleifera), and monkey pot tree (Lecythis ampla). The last two species are regional endemics found below 250 meters (820 feet) and are nearly endangered. While 99% of mangrove forests in Costa Rica are located on the Pacific Coast, only 1% is found in the Caribbean part of the park.
Lakes, marshes, and floodplains in the park are home to palms such as Raphia taedigera and Manicaria saccifera, as well as floating aquatic plants like Azolla, Eichhornia, Hydrocotyle, and Salvinia, which cover streams during the dry season. Trees include Dipteryx oleifera, Protium spp., Vatairea spp., Inga spp., Pterocarpus officinalis, Pachira aquatica, Luehea seemannii, and Pentaclethra macroloba. The undergrowth is thick and varied, with several small palm species such as Euterpe precatoria. Other important plant species include grasses like Paspalum spp. and the invasive pasture grass Brachiaria mutica.
Trees native to upland forests in the southwest include Apeiba tibourbou, Astronium graveolens, Brosimum alicastrum, Carapa guianensis, Cordia alliodora, Crescentia cujete, Croton niveus, Dipteryx oleifera, Ficus insipida, Hura crepitans, Hymenolobium mesoamericanum, Jacaratia spinosa, Lecointea amazonica, Manilkara zapota, Spondias mombin, Virola sebifera, and Zigia longifolia.
Uses
Tortuguero National Park is surrounded by private land that includes large areas used for cattle ranches and farms. The park itself does not have any permanent homes, though people lived there in the early 1900s when activities like logging, hunting turtles, and collecting animal skins were common. People living near the park are allowed to gather forest products to help support their income and for personal use. Fishing and tourism are major activities in the area. Visitors are guided to access creeks, lakes, nature trails, and to watch wildlife, including turtles Chelonia mydas and Dermochelys coriacea during egg-laying. Environmental education workshops are held by the park administration (ACTo) to teach about conservation. While no research is done inside the park, some organizations study sea turtles, birds, plants, insects, land use, and economic development. There are also guard stations and protection points within the park.
Rules for visiting Tortuguero National Park allow public access following specific guidelines. The park entrance is near the Cuatro Esquinas center in the village of Tortuguero, located in the northern part of the park. From this point, several trails begin: three water trails and one hiking trail. The hiking trail is named the Gavilan Trail and is about 6,300 feet long. The La Ceiba and La Bomba trails lead to Tortuguero Hill, where a tower offers a view of the area. Sector Jalova Station is further south near Jalova Lagoon and the town of Parismina. Aguas Frias Station is on the western edge near the town of Cariari. The three water trails are Harold, Mora, and Chiquero, with Harold being the most popular.
Conservation
Illegal clearing of trees in the park has allowed poachers to reach the second-largest green sea turtle nesting beach in the world, which was once protected and isolated. Other dangers include the cutting of Manicaria spp. trees for roofing materials, changes in river paths due to deforestation, sediment buildup from banana plantations, and illegal hunting by outside groups. The most serious threat is illegal hunting, which harms species such as the Agouti paca, Tayassu pecari, Tapirus bairdii, Odocoileus virginianus, Dasypus novemcinctus, and marine turtles and their eggs. Activities that directly harm the park include a hydroelectric project, the new international port of Barra del Parismina, and a project to connect canals to the Pacific and Caribbean oceans.
Conservation efforts in the Tortuguero Conservation Area, which includes Tortuguero National Park, the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge (40,315 hectares), the Border Corridor Wildlife Refuge (11,092 hectares), and other reserves, are managed by the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), a part of the Ministry for the Environment and Energy (MINAE). Between 1990 and 1992, conservation projects were led by MINAE and the European Union (EU) and carried out by IUCN. These projects aimed to organize land use and agroforestry, protect aquatic resources, strengthen local communities, support research, and preserve natural and cultural resources.
Gallery
- The Spectacled Caiman is found in Tortuguero National Park.
- Neotropical fruit bats live in Tortuguero National Park.
- The Strawberry poison-dart frog is located in Tortuguero Volcano.