Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
One of the most visited areas in the country, Manuel Antonio is also one of the most controversial sites within the National Park System of Costa Rica. Rich with wildlife, with white sandy beaches and a swampy area, it is also a small island of forest surrounded by pasturelands and inhabited resorts. Why does that make it controversial? As good as it is that it protects one of the most unique habitats – we call it transitional forest, basically the forest between dry and wet – it also gives housing to animals that can not migrate through open spaces or disturbed forest. Manuel Antonio is the last refuge for medium sized animals that can’t go anywhere else as their bridges are gone or built upon. The question rises then, is it good to protect such a small piece of land just because it’ll hold some animals or would it be better not to have it at all as it permits genetic isolation for the populations of organisms living there? For the time being though, we are glad we get to support one of the last refugees for many medium-sized mammals there in the region.
As we disembarked onto its beautiful beaches and took the different options we got to choose from, we were rewarded with a long list of mammals: two species of sloths, two species of monkeys, crab eating raccoons, agoutis, coatimundis, white tailed deer, proboscis bats, plus a good number of birds, reptiles and even a couple of tree frogs. One cannot deny that this park is a highlight for spotting wildlife.
Back on board for lunch, we could turn back to the beach and even walk to the entrance of the park towards the many varied vendor stands that crowd the public beach. Returning to the ship we could not help but think how lucky we are to escape the cold northern weather for at least a week.
One of the most visited areas in the country, Manuel Antonio is also one of the most controversial sites within the National Park System of Costa Rica. Rich with wildlife, with white sandy beaches and a swampy area, it is also a small island of forest surrounded by pasturelands and inhabited resorts. Why does that make it controversial? As good as it is that it protects one of the most unique habitats – we call it transitional forest, basically the forest between dry and wet – it also gives housing to animals that can not migrate through open spaces or disturbed forest. Manuel Antonio is the last refuge for medium sized animals that can’t go anywhere else as their bridges are gone or built upon. The question rises then, is it good to protect such a small piece of land just because it’ll hold some animals or would it be better not to have it at all as it permits genetic isolation for the populations of organisms living there? For the time being though, we are glad we get to support one of the last refugees for many medium-sized mammals there in the region.
As we disembarked onto its beautiful beaches and took the different options we got to choose from, we were rewarded with a long list of mammals: two species of sloths, two species of monkeys, crab eating raccoons, agoutis, coatimundis, white tailed deer, proboscis bats, plus a good number of birds, reptiles and even a couple of tree frogs. One cannot deny that this park is a highlight for spotting wildlife.
Back on board for lunch, we could turn back to the beach and even walk to the entrance of the park towards the many varied vendor stands that crowd the public beach. Returning to the ship we could not help but think how lucky we are to escape the cold northern weather for at least a week.
