The Desengano State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Desengano) is a state park in the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil. It protects an area of rugged mountains with a large remnant of Atlantic Forest that is home to various endangered species.

Location

The Desengano State Park has an area of divided between the municipalities of Santa Maria Madalena,

São Fidélis São Fidélis () is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, an ...

and

Campos dos Goytacazes Campos dos Goytacazes () is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality located in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 471,737 inhabitants. Location Campos dos Goytacazes has an area of 4,032 km2 (1,557 s ...

in the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Elevations range from . The rugged terrain includes ridges, pointed peaks, sugar loaf mountains and scarps with slopes of up to 75 degrees. Peaks include the Pico do Desengano , Pico São Mateus and Pedra Agulha . The park contains the sources of many water courses that supply settlements in the region. Waterfalls include the Vernec, Bonita and Tromba d’Água. The main rivers are the Rio Grande and its tributaries the Macapá and Santíssimo streams, the Colégio River, and the Segundo do Norte, Morumbeca, Aleluia and Mocotó rivers, tributaries of the Imbé River which feeds the Lagoa de Cima (Cima Lake). From that lake the Ururaí River flows to the Lagoa Feia.

History

The Desengano State Park is the oldest conservation unit in Rio de Janeiro, created on 13 April 1970 by decree-law 250. State decree 7.121 of 28 December 28, 1983, republished in the Official Gazette of the State of Rio de Janeiro on 18 January 1984, established an environmental protection area that contained the area of Desengano State Park. The park is managed by the State Environmental Institute (Inea). The park managers try to curb hunting and deforestation in the park and its surroundings. In June 2015 they seized 35 birds and a shotgun in the town of Monte Café. In October 2015 they found evidence of

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corruption, corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, o ...

in the town of Agulha do Imbé, in the municipality of Santa Maria Madalena, and charged the owner of the land with environmental crime.

Environment

The Desengano State Park has great scenic beauty, with many rocky peaks and flora representative of the original Atlantic Forest biome. It holds the last continuous remnant of Atlantic Forest in the region. Vegetation includes dense submontane rainforest at altitudes from , dense montane rainforest from and alpine meadows above . About 410 species of birds have been found in the region. 283 species of birds are found in the well-preserved alpine meadows, of which 22 are endemic and have low populations. Endangered bird species include

black-fronted piping guan The black-fronted piping guan or jacutinga in Brazilian Portuguese (''Pipile jacutinga'') is a bird in the chachalaca, guan, and curassow family Cracidae. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.del Hoyo, J., G. M. Kirwan, and C. J. Sha ...

(''Pipile jacutinga''),

solitary tinamou The solitary tinamou (''Tinamus solitarius'') is a species of paleognath ground bird. This species is native to Atlantic forest of eastern Brazil. Taxonomy All tinamou are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger scheme are also ratites. ...

(''Tinamus solitarius''),

white-necked hawk The white-necked hawk (''Buteogallus lacernulatus'') is a Vulnerable species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is endemic to Brazil.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claram ...

(''Buteogallus lacernulatus'') and

black-and-white hawk-eagle The black-and-white hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus melanoleucus'', formerly ''Spizastur melanoleucus'') is a bird of prey species in the eagle and hawk family (Accipitridae). It is found throughout a large part of tropical America, from southern Mexic ...

(''Spizaetus melanoleucus''). The ''Penelope'',

Tinamou Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" come ...

neotropical bellbird Neotropical bellbird (or simply bellbird) is the common name given to passerine birds of the genus ''Procnias'', found in the Neotropics. They are members of the cotinga family. They are all restricted to tropical or subtropical humid forested ...

black hawk-eagle The black hawk-eagle (), also known as the tyrant hawk-eagle, is a species of eagle found from central Mexico through Central America into the south of Brazil to Colombia, eastern Peru, and as far as northern Argentina. There are two known subspe ...

(''Spizaetus tyrannus'') and

red-browed amazon The red-browed amazon (''Amazona rhodocorytha'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is endemic to Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil. It has been considered a subspecies of the blue-cheeked amazon (''Amazona dufresniana''), bu ...

(''Amazona rhodocorytha'') are now only found in protected areas. Mammals include

maned sloth The maned sloth (''Bradypus torquatus'') is a three-toed sloth that is native to South America. It is one of four species of three-toed sloths belonging to the suborder Xenarthra and are placental mammals. They are endemic to the Atlantic coast ...

(''Bradypus torquatus''), cougar (''Puma concolor''),

coati Coatis, also known as coatimundis (), are members of the family Procyonidae in the genera ''Nasua'' and ''Nasuella''. They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. The name ...

lowland paca The lowland paca (''Cuniculus paca''), also known as the spotted paca, is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from east-central Mexico to northern Argentina, and has been introduced to Cuba and Algeria. The animal is cal ...

(''Cuniculus paca''),

howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropics and are among the largest of the platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyteles''), the spider monkeys (''Atele ...

nine-banded armadillo The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also known as the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a mammal found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos. ...

(''Dasypus novemcinctus''),

tayra The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the weasel family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' in ...

(''Eira barbara''),

collared peccary The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ...

(''Pecari tajacu''),

white-lipped peccary The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance to ...

(''Tayassu pecari''),

titi The titis, or titi monkeys, are New World monkeys of the subfamily Callicebinae, which contains three extant genera: ''Cheracebus'', ''Callicebus'', and ''Plecturocebus.'' This subfamily also contains the extinct genera ''Miocallicebus, Homuncul ...

brown four-eyed opossum The brown four-eyed opossum (''Metachirus nudicaudatus'') is a pouchless marsupial of the family Didelphidae. It is found in different forested habitats of Central and South America, from Nicaragua to Brazil and northern Argentina, including s ...

(''Metachirus nudicaudatus''),

Robust capuchin monkey Robust capuchin monkeys are capuchin monkeys in the genus ''Sapajus''. Formerly, all capuchin monkeys were placed in the genus ''Cebus''. ''Sapajus'' was erected in 2012 by Jessica Lynch Alfaro et al. to differentiate the robust (tufted) capuchin ...

s, ''furão'' (''

Mustelidae The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in th ...

'' species) and crab-eating raccoon (''Procyon cancrivorus''). In July 1999 the highly endangered

muriqui The muriquis, also known as woolly spider monkeys, are the monkeys of the genus ''Brachyteles''. They are closely related to both the spider monkeys and the woolly monkeys. The two species are the southern (''B. arachnoides'') and northern ( ...

was observed, causing great interest in the national and international scientific community and stimulating investment in research and conservation activities.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Desengano State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1970 1970 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Rio de Janeiro (state)