The Baleia State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Baleia) is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, Brazil. It protects a rugged area in the

cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...

biome near the state capital of

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

. As of 2014 nothing had been done to implement the park, which existed only on paper.

Location

The Baleia State Park is in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. It has an area of . The park is in the Taquaril neighborhood of the city. It is at the foot of the Serra do Curral, about from the city center. The area has six springs that supply the population of the Serra neighborhood in Belo Horizonte.

History

A Botanical Garden was defined in the area by decree 10.232 of 1932 with the objective of preserving the vegetation and landscape of Belo Horizonte. This would be the first conservation unit in the city and one of the first in the state and the country. However, nothing was done to implement it. The Baleia State Park was created by decree 28.162 of 6 July 1988. The park was to be implemented by the city in partnership with the state. As of 2010 it had not been opened to the public. The park adjoins the Mata das Baleias (Baleias Forest), owned by the Hospital da Baleia. In 2010 the Hospital da Baleia said it was partnering with the private sector to support adventure tourism in the forest, and establishing partnerships with universities for research. The Solidarity Trail leads from the hospital's headquarters to the Pico Belo Horizonte, also known as Antenna Peak, from which the whole city is visible. The hospital would gain revenue from tourism. In October 2014 the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MPMG) filed an action demanding implementation of the Baleia State Park, naming the State Forestry Institute (IEF) and the Prefecture of Belo Horizonte. The ministry said the area had been protected since 1932 but the park had never existed except on paper. There was no infrastructure, and the park suffered from fires, squatters, deforestation and water pollution. The action required creation of a consultative council for the park and demanded appointment within 30 days of a manager and four park rangers, with vehicles and necessary equipment.

Environment

The Baleia State Park holds diverse natural environments due to its rugged topography, and its varied rocks and soils. It holds alpine meadows,

and a small area of gallery forest. The park provides a refuge for several endangered species of birds and animals. 188 species of birds have been catalogued, of which 11 are endangered and three are endemic to the Baleia Forest. The three endemic birds species, considered endangered in other regions, are white-rumped tanager (''Cypsnagra hirundinacea''),

blue finch The blue finch or yellow-billed blue finch (''Porphyrospiza caerulescens'') is a species of small bird. Although it was long classified in the bunting family Emberizidae, or the cardinal family Cardinalidae, more recent molecular studies have sho ...

(''Porphyrospiza caerulescens'') and swallow-tailed cotinga (''Phibalura flavirostris''). There are small mammals such as possums, armadillos, monkeys, coatis and ferrets.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baleia State Park State parks of Brazil Protected areas established in 1988 1988 establishments in Brazil Protected areas of Minas Gerais