Piedras Blancas National Park
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Piedras Blancas National Park is a
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
part of the
Osa Conservation Area 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 natu ...
. It is found in the
Puntarenas Province Puntarenas () is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces ...
of southern
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
near the town of
La Gamba 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. This village was d ...
. It protects
rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
s and beaches near the Golfo Dulce on the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
Coast. It used to operate as part of the
Corcovado National Park Corcovado National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Corcovado) is a National Park on the Osa Peninsula, in Osa Canton, southwestern Costa Rica (9° North, 83° West), which is part of the Osa Conservation Area. It was established on 24 October 1975 ...
called the ''Esquinas Sector'' from 1991 before becoming a separate park in 1999. Until the mid-1990s, much of the forest in the park was severely endangered by logging. The rugged mountains and watersheds of the
Esquinas ''Esquinas'' (Corners) is an orchestral composition by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas, written in 1931 and extensively revised in 1933. The first version is in two movements with a duration of about 11 minutes in performance; the secon ...
and Piedras Blancas rivers are covered in dense
evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, Live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zone ...
that is home to a number of rare tropical trees and the
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of many species of
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s,
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s and
reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s. Hunting has been a problem, but the number of park rangers was increased from 6 to 16 between 2005 and 2007, and poaching has decreased. Some of the park has remained in private hands, however a charitable organization (
Rainforest of the Austrians {{Short description, Environment protection projectRainforest 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. It ...
) has been raising funds and purchasing these, which up to 2008 had moved of land in the area into public ownership. The Costa Rican government, the hydroelectric company Tenaska (
carbon offset A carbon offset is a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). One ton of carbon ...
joint implementation), The Nature Conservancy and the Gordon and Betty Moore foundation have also purchased land in Piedras Blancas, bringing the total protected area within the park to more than 80%.


Zoology


Mammals

Austrian researchers studying the mammals of Piedras Blancas NP in 2003 and 2004 compiled a list of 96 species sighted or caught in camera traps. The 14 species of carnivores include raccoons, coati, kinkajou, olingo, skunks, grison, tayra and five species of cats (jaguar, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi and puma). It is, however, highly unlikely that tourists will encounter a wildcat as they are elusive and nocturnal. Two-toed sloths are rare in the Esquinas forest but can be found in the coastal areas around Golfito. Around 20 years ago, the giant anteater was seen for the last time by local hunters, but it is extinct today. The northern tamandua has been sighted near Esquinas Lodge and the silky anteater was recorded in the mangroves near Golfito. White-face capuchin and squirrel monkeys are often seen in the lodge garden, whereas howler monkeys are usually heard and seen on the Golfo Dulce coast and spider monkeys have been regularly sighted since 2006. Five species of American opossums have been recorded, including the Mexican mouse, the gray four-eyed, and the common opossum. Rodents include the agouti paca and several species of mice, squirrels and rats. With 53 different species, bats are the richest mammal group in Piedras Blancas NP. Most of the species are fruit eaters like Artibeus watsoni and Carollia perspicillata. The vampire bat is a real blood feeding animal and was found foraging in open habitats near La Gamba.


Amphibians and reptiles

Several scientists and students have undertaken studies in Piedras Blancas National Park, using La Gamba Field Station as a base for their investigative trips. They have produced a booklet with descriptions of 37 amphibian and 42 reptile species of the Esquinas rainforest. You are likely to encounter spectacularly colored frogs such as the red-eyed leaf frog or poison-arrow frogs, tree frogs, glass frogs, rain frogs and cane toads. The nocturnal concert of frog calls at Esquinas Lodge is unforgettable. Basilisks and iguanas frequent the streams, anole lizards can be seen in the garden, and geckos can be seen chasing insects in the main lodge building at nighttime. The most common and most dangerous snake is the fer-de-lance, but coral snakes, vine snakes, boa constrictors and pit vipers are seen occasionally. Spectacled caimans live in the ponds, and American crocodiles can be seen in larger rivers and mangrove swamps.


References


External links


Piedras Blancas National Park Guided Tours
By Golfito Monkey Tours

at Costa Rica National Parks {{authority control National parks of Costa Rica Protected areas established in 1991 Geography of Puntarenas Province Tourist attractions in Puntarenas Province 1991 establishments in Costa Rica