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The Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve is a
Up to the 1960s the lands that now constitute the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve were being depleted of their natural forests for use as farm and pasture land. The emphasis in those days was to develop and increase agricultural production and cattle, and little concern was given to conservation of natural habitats.
Nils Olof Wessberg (known as Nicolás) and Karen Mogensen arrived in Costa Rica 1955 in the pursuit of Karen's dream of finding happiness in harmony with nature. They chose to establish themselves in the Nicoya Peninsula.
Soon after establishing themselves in a farm near the Montezuma area, Nicolás set up on an expedition to the Cabo Blanco area in search for native tree seeds to reforest their newly acquired farm. Upon arriving to the area, he was amazed at the abundant wildlife and the size of the trees in the area. This was like an oasis in the midst of a desert as all lands around had been devastated to give way to low-yield pasture and agricultural lands.
This experience was what triggered their determination to save and preserve this "natural jewel". With the aid of international conservation societies, they bought of land in 1963 and turned these lands into the first protected area in all of Costa Rica.
Nicolas was murdered in 1975 while he was campaigning to protect Osa Peninsula from depletion by hunting, forest and gold exploitation. Karen died in 1994. Their bodies are buried at the Nicolas Wessberg Natural Reserve which was the original farm they bought when first arrived in the Montezuma area.
Orca Whales
Costa Rica Scuba.com. Retrieved on August 25, 2017 fish, crabs and mollusks found in the shore waters and in the Cabo Blanco island. Worth mentioning is the healthy population of brown boobies and pelicans found in the island, and also the plentiful conch (''
Cabo Blanco Nature and Wildlife
at Nicoya Peninsula Travel Guide
at Costa Rica National Parks
at Costa Rica map
CaboBlancoPark.comPhotos of Cabo Blanco
at Costa Rica Photos {{Authority control Nature reserves in Costa Rica Geography of Puntarenas Province Tourist attractions in Puntarenas Province
Nature Reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
of Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area in the province of Puntarenas, covering an area of terrestrial and marine on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula near Montezuma-Cabuya and Mal Pais.
The site is home to the San Miguel Biological Station which was developed to promote and support teaching, research, and environmental education and has facilities that include classrooms, laboratories and a reference library. The reserve was created in 1963 due to a campaign started by Nils Olof Wessberg and was the first major conservation project in the country.
History
Up to the 1960s the lands that now constitute the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve were being depleted of their natural forests for use as farm and pasture land. The emphasis in those days was to develop and increase agricultural production and cattle, and little concern was given to conservation of natural habitats.
Nils Olof Wessberg (known as Nicolás) and Karen Mogensen arrived in Costa Rica 1955 in the pursuit of Karen's dream of finding happiness in harmony with nature. They chose to establish themselves in the Nicoya Peninsula.
Soon after establishing themselves in a farm near the Montezuma area, Nicolás set up on an expedition to the Cabo Blanco area in search for native tree seeds to reforest their newly acquired farm. Upon arriving to the area, he was amazed at the abundant wildlife and the size of the trees in the area. This was like an oasis in the midst of a desert as all lands around had been devastated to give way to low-yield pasture and agricultural lands.
This experience was what triggered their determination to save and preserve this "natural jewel". With the aid of international conservation societies, they bought of land in 1963 and turned these lands into the first protected area in all of Costa Rica.
Nicolas was murdered in 1975 while he was campaigning to protect Osa Peninsula from depletion by hunting, forest and gold exploitation. Karen died in 1994. Their bodies are buried at the Nicolas Wessberg Natural Reserve which was the original farm they bought when first arrived in the Montezuma area.
Flora
About 140 different species of trees have been identified inside the park. Because the park is located in a transition area between the dry and wet forest, a unique combination of evergreen trees (never lose their leaves) which are characteristic of the humid rainforest, and trees of the deciduous type (which lose their foliage during the dry season) and are characteristic of the dry forest. Among the dry forest specimens found we can mention the "Pochote" ( Bombacopsis quinata), the "Guacimo" (Guazuma ulmifolia
''Guazuma ulmifolia'', commonly known as West Indian elm or bay cedar, is a medium-sized tree normally found in pastures and disturbed forests. This flowering plant from the family Malvaceae grows up to 30m in height and 30–40cm in diameter. I ...
), and the "Indio Desnudo" (Bursera simaruba
''Bursera simaruba'', commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, chaca, West Indian birch, naked Indian, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to the Neotropics, from South Florida to Mexico and the Caribbean ...
) but there are many other trees present that are native to the whole Nicoya Peninsula area.
Among the evergreens is worth mentioning the tall and impressive "Espavel" (Anacardium excelsum
''Anacardium excelsum'', the wild cashew or ''espavé'', is a tree in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The tree is common in the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests of Pacific and Atlantic watersheds of Central and South Amer ...
), the "Guacimo Colorado" (Luehea seemanii), and the beautiful "Cortez Amarillo" (Tabebuia ochracea
''Tabebuia ochracea'', known as ''corteza amarillia'' in Spanish, is a timber tree native to South America, Cerrado and Pantanal vegetation in Brazil. It is very similar, closely related to, and often confused with the Golden Trumpet Tree, ''Tab ...
) which bursts into a yellow spectacle of flowers during the dry months of March and April.
Fauna
There is a considerable variety of mammals in the park. Predominant among these and very easily spotted by visitors are the howler ( ''Alouatta palliata'') and the white-face ( ''Cebus capuchinus'') monkeys. Also very abundant and easily seen are the white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica
The white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), also known as the coatimundi (), is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae (raccoons and their relatives). Local Spanish names for the species include ''pizote'', ''antoon'', and ''t ...
'') and the white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
'').
Also present, but harder to spot are the margay (''Felis wiedii
The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest.
Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wildlife ...
'') and the coyote ( ''Cannis latrans'').
But the greatest wealth in fauna is in the abundant marine birds, marine mammals including orca
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...
s,ANNIE. 2012Orca Whales
Costa Rica Scuba.com. Retrieved on August 25, 2017 fish, crabs and mollusks found in the shore waters and in the Cabo Blanco island. Worth mentioning is the healthy population of brown boobies and pelicans found in the island, and also the plentiful conch (''
Strombus galeatus
''Titanostrombus galeatus'', commonly known as the Eastern Pacific giant conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Strombidae, the true conchs and their allies.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Titan ...
'') found on the park's waters.
References
External links
Cabo Blanco Nature and Wildlife
at Nicoya Peninsula Travel Guide
at Costa Rica National Parks
at Costa Rica map
CaboBlancoPark.com
at Costa Rica Photos {{Authority control Nature reserves in Costa Rica Geography of Puntarenas Province Tourist attractions in Puntarenas Province