The reserve
The Maquenque National Wildlife Reserve was created on June 13, 2005. With the aim of preserving and conserving habitat and wildlife, protecting different types of ecosystems, such as fragile wetlands and endangered species within the tropical rainforest.
Geographical location
This refuge is located north of Boca Tapada and covers an area of 51,855 hectares. The region has a very heterogeneous relief. It is made up of medium-altitude hills, gently sloping hills, flood plains, wetlands, channels and lagoons.
Maquenque National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Arenal Huetar Norte conservation area and an intermediate strip of the "Boundary Biological Corridor between Nicaragua and Costa Rica" national wildlife refuge, in the northern part of Costa Rica.
It is located around 130 km from San José, 30 km from Pital and just 21 km from the San Juan River, the natural border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua. To the north, it borders the "La Selva" biological forest, the "Barra del Colorado" national wildlife refuge and the
Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast. This area is known as the most biologically diverse region of the Central American isthmus. The refuge is located in the large basin of the San Juan River, which flows into the Caribbean Sea, which in turn serves as a waterway between this sea and Lake Nicaragua. This basin is part of the river corridor that drains the largest volume of fresh water in Central America.
Environment
It's a property surrounded by pristine nature, comprising a set of lagoons and ecosystems typical of tropical forests: very humid, characterized by high biodiversity and home to endangered species such as the green macaw (Ara ambigua). vulnerable species such as the manatee (Trichechus manatus) and other important species such as the jaguar (Panthera onca) and the gaspar fish (Atractosteus tropicus), making the Maquenque wetland a unique environment. In addition, the wetland plays an important hydrological role in the functioning of the surrounding basins.
In the refuge, 4 wetlands have been identified: Maquenque, Tambor, Canacas and Colpachí.
The refuge itself is a proposed national park, which would bring together several existing nature reserves, wilderness refuges and forest reserves to form a new national park covering the areas between the San Carlos and Sarapiqui rivers, among other areas close to the border with Nicaragua.
The Maquenque National Wilderness Reserve mixes habitats on either side of the San Carlos River, with sections of former pastureland being reforested. There are some 40 hectares of secondary forest bordering the western end of the property, while to the east, the property is adjacent to a neighbor's property that owns hundreds of hectares with some of the oldest forests in northern Costa Rica.
The climate
The general macroclimate ranges from humid to very humid, characterized mainly by year-round rainfall, with no well-defined dry period that also lasts a few weeks. The average annual temperature in the lowlands is around 26 to 27 degrees Celsius, with the average annual temperature fluctuating between 24 and 25 degrees Celsius only in the highest parts. Importantly, this is where the last remaining populations of macaws, manatees, jaguars and Gaspar fish are found.
This refuge is home to a rich biodiversity of animals and plants, including many almond trees, a tree that is not represented in any national park or protected area in Costa Rica and is one of the main sources of food for the Green Macaw. This enabled the World Parrot Trust, among other organizations, to set up the campaign for the creation of the national park.
The main river corridors are of biological, landscape and ecotourism interest.
Most of these river corridors reach the San Juan River via other small rivers, and at the same time flow into the Caribbean Sea. As far as infrastructure and the surrounding villages are concerned, the pastures and crops are used solely for the consumption of the owners and their families. And the most important centers have the basic services of water, electricity, health centers, schools and colleges.
Boca Tapada and human activity
As far as the type of work produced in the region is concerned, many are temporary jobs (small-scale producers who leave the region), but we also have the case of large-scale producers, who have sufficient economic resources for the production and marketing of their products.
The main products grown are pineapple, yucca, yam, tiquizque and banana. The region is also home to ecological tourism projects, where natural attractions include rivers, wetlands, lagoons, forests and wildlife.
This region has great potential for tourism development, an economic activity that can generate funds for investment in community development, ecosystem protection and scientific research.
The forest environments of the Maquenque reserve
ForestThe most common trees are almond ("dipteryx panamensis"), Areno ("qualea paraensis"), Cocobolo ("vatairea lundelli"), Jícaro ("lecythis ampla"), Pilón ("hieronyma oblonga"), Cola de Pavo ("hymenolobium mesoamericanum"), Ajillo ("pithecelobium pedicellarme"), Huesillo ("pinorea pubipebes"). The most common palms are: Geonoma y Euterpe.
High intermediate forestThere are 137 species divided into families and 86 genera. The most common species are: Caobilla ("carapa gulanensis"), Roble Coral ("termilia amazonia"), Jícaro ("lecythis ampla"), Menú ("minquartia guianensis"), Fruta Dorado ("virola koshnyi"). There are very few palms in the undergrowth.
Shoreline forestThe trees that grow along the river are large. The most common species are el Cativo ("prioria copaifera"), Caobilla ("carapa guianensis") and el Ficus, while the most common plums are el Geonoma ("Bromelia") and Heliconia ("Orquídeas"). The area between southern Nicaragua and northern Costa Rica represents a boundary between neotropical and neoartic flora.
It is possible that the San Jun - La Selva biological corridor (CBSS) is the corridor with the greatest diversity of flora in Costa Rica (over 6,000 species of vascular plants). 45% is made up of 6 endemic plant species: "cyclanthaceae", "marantaceae", "cecropiaceae", "clusiaceae", "lauraceae" and "moraceae".
Wildlife
Mammals
In the Maquenque reserve, there are around 139 species of mammal, the most common of which are Tapirs, wild pigs, Agouti, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, long-tailed otter ("lutra longicaudis"), Jaguar ("panthera onca"), Puma ("puma concolor").
An important fact about
Manatees "The main reason for this is that their population has declined considerably since the 20th century. There are some 424 species of bird, the most common of which are the "harpy eagle", "falco peregrinus", "ara ambigu", "ara macao", "Spizastur melanoleucus", "Daptrius americanus" and green macaws. They are endangered worldwide, and their population in Costa Rica has been reduced by 90%.
Among its main threats are uncontrolled deforestation to create pasture for cattle, sale as a pet, sport hunting (for their plumage) and the fact that this bird feeds almost exclusively on the almond tree ("Dipteryx panamensis"), used as a source of food and nesting.
The fish
There are between 54 and 80 species of freshwater fish. These include bull sharks ("leucas carcharrinus"), snappers ("Lutjanidae"), Roncadores ("Haemulidae"), poeciliids ("Alfaro cultratusy"), Characidos ("Astyanax fasciatus"), cichlids, Mojarras, Guapotes ("ciclasoma doviiy" and "loisellei ciclasoma").
Reptiles
Among the most common reptile and amphibian species are the serpentine chelidra, croccodylus acutus, dendrobates pumilio, dendrobates auratus and phyllobates lugubris.
