Corcovado National Park

Corcovado National Park is on the Osa Peninsula, in Osa Canton, located on the southwestern part of Costa Rica. Corcovado National Park was established in 1975 and occupies an area of 424 square kilometres (164 sq mi). It is currently the largest park in Costa Rica and extends over about a third of the Osa Peninsula.

The park has the largest primary forest on the American Pacific coastline and is also one of the few remaining sizable areas of lowland tropical forests in the world. 

Biodiversity
Corcovado is home to the endangered Baird’s tapir many cat species are present, including the jaguar, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, and puma.

All four Costa Rican monkey species are known to live within the park, including the endangered Central American squirrel monkey, white-faced capuchin, mantled howler, and Geoffroy’s spider monkey. Other mammals include two-toed and three-toed sloth, collared peccary, northern tamandua, and silky anteater. Poison dart frogs, red-eyed tree frogs, glass frogs, and several species of snake (including the venomous fer-de-lance and bushmaster) are also present within the park.

Most animal sightings can be expected along the coast, including scarlet macaws (the largest population in the country), hermit crabs, pelicans, spider monkeys, tamandua anteaters, pumas, white faced capuchin monkeys, lineated woodpeckers and coatis.

Other animals in the park include Central American squirrel monkeys, mantled howler monkeys, both two-toed and three-toed sloths, agoutis, giant anteaters, great curassows, black hawks, spectacled owls, hummingbirds, 220 species of butterflies, golden orb spiders, otters and raccoons. Four species of sea turtle (green, Pacific ridley, hawksbill, and leatherback) nest on the beaches.

The abundance in wildlife can in part be explained by the variety of vegetation zones, at least thirteen, including montane forest (which covers more than half the park) cloud forest, jolillo forest (palm swamp), prairie forest, alluvial plains forest, swamp forest, freshwater herbaceous swamp and mangrove, together holding over 500 tree species, including purple heart, poponjoche, nargusta, banak, cow tree, espave and crabwood.

The high biodiversity is also attributed to Costa Rica’s position on a north-south corridor for flora and fauna; part of the “land bridge” and wildlife corridor that links the large continents of North America and South America. In 41,800 hectares, Corcovado houses 3% of the world’s biodiversity.
The waters of the park are rich in biodiversity. The coasts are wintering and breeding grounds for humpback whales that come each winter. Other baleen whales also migrate through the area such as Bryde’s whale. Dolphins such as spinner and rough-toothed, and smaller cetaceans such as false killer whales and killer whales are seasonal migrants to these areas