Superagui

Superagui National Park was created in 1989 on the northern coast of the state of Paraná, in the Paranaguá and Cananeia estuarine complex, one of the best-preserved coastal systems in southern Brazil. It protects a group of islands — Superagui and das Peças among the main ones — channels, mangroves, restingas and coastal Atlantic forest.

Its value for wildlife is exceptional. Superagui island is the only place in the world where the black-faced lion tamarin (Leontopithecus caissara) lives, a primate discovered by science in 1990 and one of the most threatened on the planet, with a total population numbering a few hundred individuals split between this island and a nearby mainland area. The park also holds one of the largest known concentrations of the red-tailed amazon, which comes each evening to communal roosts over the mangroves, a spectacle that has become one of its attractions.

The mangroves and shallow waters of the estuarine complex act as a nursery for fish and crustaceans and sustain the artisanal fishing of the caiçara communities that live within and around the park, a coexistence that has been a source of tension and also of management agreements. The park forms part of the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves World Heritage property, inscribed in 1999.