Jeannette Kawas National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Jeannette Kawas) 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 ...

located in the municipality of

Tela Tela is a town, with a population of 38,030 (2020 calculation), and a municipality in Honduras on the northern Caribbean coast. It is located in the department of Atlantida. History Colonial era Tela was founded by the Spanish conquistador ...

, on the northern

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

coast of the Atlántida department of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

, established on 4 November 1994. The park covers an area of 781.62 square kilometres and has an altitude of 900 metres. The park was created and is managed by the PROLANSATE foundation (protection of Lancetilla, Punta Sal and Texiguat).

History

The park was established on 4 November 1994, originally named Punta Sal National Park. It was created and is managed by the PROLANSATE foundation (protection of Lancetilla, Punta Sal and Texiguat). Its name was changed to Jeannette Kawas National Park in honor of

Jeannette Kawas Blanca Jeannette Kawas Fernández (16 January 1946 – 6 February 1995) was a Honduran environmental activist known for her role in saving more than 400 species of flora and fauna. Biography Kawas started her studies at the Miguel Paz Barahona S ...

, an environmental activist and PROLANSATE president who was murdered on February 6, 1995 for her work trying to keep the palm plantations out of the park. Jeannette Kawas National Park is part of the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

List of Wetlands of International Importance and was designated as such on March 28, 1995.

Geography

The park is located in the municipality of

, on the northern

coast of the Atlántida department of

. Located at 15º51'N 087º40'W between longitudes 87º29' and 87º52' west and latitudes 15º42' and 16º00'. It covers an area of 781.62 square kilometres and has an altitude of 900 metres.

Ecosystems

The park is made up of varied marine, terrestrial and wetlands ecosystems with a large number of species. These ecosystems include beaches,

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fores ...

s, inundated forests,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

forests,

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

s and rivers.

Species

Birds

Keel-billed motmot The keel-billed motmot (''Electron carinatum'') is a species of bird in the motmot family Momotidae. It is very closely related to the broad-billed motmot, and the two may be the same species. The two are similar sizes and shapes, and have been ...

Turquoise-browed motmot The turquoise-browed motmot (''Eumomota superciliosa'') also known as torogoz, is a colourful, medium-sized bird of the motmot family, Momotidae. It inhabits Central America from south-east Mexico (mostly the Yucatán Peninsula), to Costa Rica, ...

* Green-breasted mountain-gem * Lovely cotinga *

Resplendent quetzal The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...

* Bushy-crested jay * Blue-crowned chlorophonia *

Lesser ground-cuckoo The lesser ground cuckoo (''Morococcyx erythropygus'') is a species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.HBW and BirdLife Internati ...

Mammals

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

* Common dolphin * White-headed capuchin * Howler monkey

Fishes

* Tarpon *

Centropomus ''Centropomus'' is a genus of predominantly marine fish comprising the family Centropomidae. The type species is '' Centropomus undecimalis'', the common snook. Commonly known as snooks or ''róbalos'', the ''Centropomus'' species are native to ...

Gafftopsail catfish The gafftopsail catfish (''Bagre marinus'') is found in the waters of the western central Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. It has long, venomous spines which can cause painful wounds. It feeds on crustaceans an ...

Reptiles

* American crocodile * Sea turtle, such as

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

, leatherback sea turtle, hawksbill turtle and the loggerhead turtle * Green iguana *

Red-tailed boa The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

* Mexican burrowing snake

Arthropods

* Caribbean hermit crab *

Golden silk orb-weaver ''Nephila'' is a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. ''Nephila'' consists of numerous species found in warmer regions around the world. They are commonly called golden silk orb-weavers, golden orb-weavers, gian ...

Plants

* '' Acalypha skutchii'' * ''Cappatis truerchkhemii'' * ''Columnea tuerckheimii'' * ''Cordia truncatifolia'' * ''Ormosia macrocalyx'' * ''Phyllanthus elsiae'' * ''Rinorea hummelii'' * ''Salacia impressifolia'' * ''Sida antillensis'' * ''Sida troyana''

References

External links

Birds of Honduras.com
Robert Gallardo, n.d.

Carla Picinich, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, n.d., retrieved 9 March 2016

INFOHN.COM (Info de Honduras S.A.) 2006
Fundacion PROLANSATE web site
(in Spanish) n.d.
Ramsar sites by countries
{{authority control National parks of Honduras Atlántida Department Ramsar sites in Honduras Protected areas established in 1988 Central American Atlantic moist forests