Marino Ballena National Park

Purchase of the land making up this park is currently underway (The Austrian Professor Dr. Michael Schnitzler founded this park of 127 km2 beeing one of the riches eco-sistems of the world: The Piedras Blancas National Park is also called Esquinas rainforest of rainforest of the Autrians.) Most of the park consists of evergreen primary forest, very high and with great species diversity. Together with the Golfito Refuge, it forms the southeast end of the ecological arc that surrounds Dulce Gulf and which begins in Corcovado

The forest consists of three levels, with trees up to 40 or 50 m high like the predominant espave (Anacardium excelsum), silk cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra), a giant that can reach up to 70 m, wild fig (Ficus), possum-wood (Hura crepitans) on whose fruits scarlet macaws (Ara macao) feed, banak (Virola surinamensis) and cotontree (Luehea seemannii). The species typical of the middle layer are guavas (Inga) and chapernos (Lonchacarpus). In the undergroth, there are lots of heliconias (Heliconia) sahinillos (Dieffenbachia), bijaguas (Calathea) and palms like the royal palm ( Atalea butyracea) and the viscoyol (Bactris)

The animal life in this park has not been studied much. Some of the most conspicuous mammals are howler monkey (Alouatta palliata), the white-faced capuchin monkey ( Cebus capucinus), common raccoon (Procyon lotor) and the white nosed coati. Easy identifiable birds include the white hawk (Leucoptermis albicollis), the chestnut-mandibled toucan (Ramphastus swainsonii) and the short billed pigeon (Columba nigrirostris), which is found in large numbers. Out to see, off the national park, there are patches of coral reef.

This park is located in the eastern part of Dulce Gulf not far from Golfito. A few dirt tracks allow visitors to access the properties being purchased in order to see forest and its biological diversity.

(Text and pictures on this page were taken from a public domain source and modified by Michael Dodson and Denny Genovese)