Washington Slagbaai National Park is a national park and

ecological reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

on the northwestern part of the island of Bonaire in the

Caribbean Netherlands ) , image_map = BES islands location map.svg , map_caption = Location of the Caribbean Netherlands (green and circled). From left to right: Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius , elevation_max_m = 887 , elevation_max_footnotes = , demographic ...

. The park covering approximately a fifth of the island of Bonaire is managed by STINAPA Bonaire, a non-profit foundation, on behalf of the Bonaire government. Established in 1969, Washington Slagbaai National Park was the first nature reserve to be established in the former Netherlands Antilles.Washington Slagbaai National Park
''

Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) is a regional partnership of conservation organisations, including the national parks on the six islands of the Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten) and is inte ...

Flora and fauna

There are about 340 species of plants. Typical vegetation is made up of low thorny scrub (

xerophytic A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or t ...

shrublands) and two main species of cacti: the yatu (''Lemaireocereus griseus'') and the cadushi (in WayuunaikiVillalobos et al. (2007)) or kadushi (''Cereus repandus'').Washington-Slagbaai National Park
InterKnowledge Corp. Park seashores are nesting ground for endangered sea turtles: the

green 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 ...

(''Chelonia mydas''), the

hawksbill The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is large ...

(''Eretmochelys imbricata'') and the

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

(''Caretta caretta''). On rare occasions one can see

leatherback sea turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weight ...

s (''Dermochelys coriacea''). The park is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) since it serves as nesting, roosting, and foraging area for endangered or restricted-range bird species. The salt pans are a special area and home to the

Caribbean flamingo The American flamingo (''Phoenicopterus ruber'') is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo native to the Neotropics. It was formerly considered conspecific with the greater flamingo, but that tre ...

(''Phoenicopterus ruber''). The Pekelmeer Flamingo Sanctuary is set in mud pockets. Specially protected parrot species include the yellow-shouldered parrot (''Amazona barbadensis''). The chance for the chicks to survive in the nest is very small. Rats, wild cats and other birds eat the eggs, but the biggest danger is humans. They take the chicks out of their nests to sell them. Trade is now prohibited by an international convention (

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

).Listed animal in CITES Appendix I
/ref> Since 2008, the population has increased. The park is also nesting grounds for endangered

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migrator ...

s (''Sterna hirundo''),

Sandwich tern The Sandwich tern (''Thalasseus sandvicensis'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (''T. bengalensis''), Chinese crested tern (''T. bernsteini''), Cabot's tern (''T. acuflavidus''), and elega ...

s (''Sterna sandvicensis'') and

least tern The least tern (''Sternula antillarum'') is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. Ot ...

s (''Sterna antillarum'').

References

External links

* {{Authority control Protected areas established in 1969 Protected areas of Bonaire Important Bird Areas of the Dutch Caribbean Nature conservation in the Netherlands Birds of Bonaire

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links