Nicaragua
América del Norte
Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America and is split by a great tectonic depression occupied by two enormous lakes, the Xolotlán and the Cocibolca, and by a chain of active volcanoes aligned beside the Pacific. In the Cocibolca, the largest freshwater lake in the region, rises the island of Ometepe, formed by two volcanoes joined by an isthmus. To the east, towards the Caribbean, stretch the humid plains and the reserves of Bosawás and Indio Maíz, which together form the second largest block of tropical rainforest in the Americas after Amazonia. The Caribbean coast, rainy and thinly populated, contributes mangroves, lagoons and coral cays, and the Pacific one, arribada beaches of olive ridley turtle.
The nature of Nicaragua
National animal: The turquoise-browed motmot, the country's national bird
Did you know?
In the crater of the Masaya volcano, where the air is loaded with sulphur dioxide and other corrosive gases, a colony of small green parakeets known locally as chocoyos nests. The birds come and go daily along the inner walls of the crater, among columns of acid smoke that would be irritating to almost any vertebrate, and breed there without it being fully understood how they tolerate such conditions.
Biodiversity profile
Climate
- •Tropical con estacion seca (Aw) en el Pacifico
- •Tropical humedo (Af) en la costa Caribe (Mosquitia)
- •Templado en zonas montañosas del norte
Main biomes
- •Bosque tropical humedo (Reserva de la Biosfera Bosawas, compartida con Honduras)
- •Bosque seco tropical (Pacifico)
- •Humedales del Gran Lago de Nicaragua
- •Selva tropical húmeda
- •Lago de agua dulce continental
- •Volcán activo
- •Manglar del Caribe
- •Laguna cratérica
- •Cayo coralino
Marine and coastal ecosystems
- •Costa caribeña con arrecifes y cayos (Corn Islands)
- •Manglares en ambas costas
Flagship wildlife
- •Jaguar
- •Guacamayo rojo
- •Puma
- •Tapir centroamericano
- •Tortuga marina (playas de anidacion masiva, arribadas)
- •Chocoyo o perico frentianaranjada
- •Guardabarranco
- •Tiburón toro
- •Tortuga golfina
- •Manatí del Caribe
- •Mono congo
- •Guacamaya verde
- •Cocodrilo americano
Notable endemic species
- •Ninguna especie de ave endemica confirmada segun listado ornitologico nacional; endemismo concentrado principalmente en flora y herpetofauna de zonas montañosas aisladas
Notable threatened species
- •Jaguar, guacamayo rojo y tapir en declive por perdida de habitat
- •Menos del 5% del territorio conserva bosque original segun fuentes de finales del siglo XX (dato historico, situacion puede haber cambiado)
- •Mas de 10 especies de mamiferos en peligro, incluido el murcielago de Van Gelder y el mono araña de Geoffroy
Notable protected areas
- •Reserva de la Biosfera Bosawas (una de las mayores areas de selva tropical continua de Centroamerica)
- •Refugio de Vida Silvestre Chocoyero-El Brujo
- •Parque Nacional Volcan Masaya
- •Reserva de la Biosfera de Bosawás
- •Reserva Biológica Indio Maíz
- •Isla de Ometepe
- •Refugio de Vida Silvestre La Flor
- •Cayos Miskitos
Main conservation threats
- •Deforestacion historica severa (menos del 5% de bosque original remanente segun estimacion citada por Frommers)
- •Erosion del suelo y deslaves asociados a la perdida forestal
- •Pobreza que dificulta la proteccion efectiva de especies como la tortuga Ridley
Notable natural phenomena
- •Arribadas masivas de tortugas marinas en playas del Pacifico
- •Actividad volcanica activa (Masaya, con lago de lava visible; Concepcion y Maderas en la isla de Ometepe)
Conservation
Lake Cocibolca holds bull sharks able to tolerate fresh water, which come up the San Juan river from the Caribbean, one of the few cases in the world of sharks in an inland lake. The advance of the agricultural frontier is the greatest threat to Bosawás and Indio Maíz.
Where and when to watch wildlife
La Flor between July and December for the arribadas of olive ridley turtle. Masaya at dusk for the parakeets going into the crater. Indio Maíz in the dry season for primates and birds.
El dato de "menos del 5% de bosque original" proviene de una fuente de turismo/viajes (Frommers) y podria estar desactualizado; se recomienda verificacion con fuente oficial nicaraguense en una revision posterior.
Sources: BioDB.com - Nicaragua | Frommers - Environment in Nicaragua | Fatbirder - Republic of Nicaragua | visitcentroamerica.com
Parks and reserves
Bosawas
The second largest continuous rainforest in the western hemisphere after the Amazon
View parkBiological ReserveIndio Maiz
One of Nicaragua's best-preserved reserves, on the Costa Rican border beside the historic San Juan River
View parkNature Reserve (community-managed)Miraflor Nature Reserve
Run entirely by local farming cooperatives, combining shade coffee with primary cloud forest
View parkNational ParkSaslaya
Nicaragua's first national park; the original core of what would later be widened into the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve
View parkNational ParkMasaya Volcano
Nicaragua's first national park; the Spanish conquistadors called it the mouth of hell for its visible lava
View parkDiving and snorkelling
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Especies documentadas en Nicaragua
260 species found
Yellow Fever Mosquito
Aedes aegypti
Tiger Mosquito
Aedes albopictus
Bleeding Tooth
Nerita peloronta
Flat Tree Oyster
Isognomon alatus
Largehead Hairtail
Trichiurus lepturus
Weevil
Anthonomus grandis
Atlantic Pyrosomes
Pyrosoma atlanticum
Black Margate
Anisotremus surinamensis
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about Nicaragua.