Maya Biosphere

The Maya Biosphere Reserve () is a

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, funga, or features of geologic ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

managed by Guatemala's

National Council of Protected Areas National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(CONAP). The

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 21,602 km², one-fifth of the country's total land area. The park is home to a large number of species of fauna including

Morelet's crocodile Morelet's crocodile (''Crocodylus moreletii''), also known as the Mexican crocodile or Belize crocodile, is a modest-sized crocodilian found only in the Atlantic regions of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It usually grows to about in length. It i ...

and the

ocellated turkey The ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocellata'') is a species of turkey residing primarily in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, as well as in parts of Belize and Guatemala. A relative of the North American wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo''), it wa ...

. It is also rich in flora including

breadnut Breadnut may refer to: * '' Artocarpus camansi'', a close relative of the breadfruit * '' Brosimum alicastrum'', also known as "Maya nut" or ''ramón'', theorized to be a staple crop for the ancient Maya {{Short pages monitor