Darien National Park
Darien National Park is the largest park not only in Panama, but in all of Central America. It was founded in 1980 on the initiative of the Panamanian government in order to protect a unique natural zone that includes an area of ancient forests, including mangrove forests. Darien Park is the largest and most popular natural reserve, and is one of the main attractions of Panama, and not only Panama, but also Colombia and Central America.
General Information
The main protected areas in Darien Park are tropical rainforest complexes, savannah areas, mountain forests, mangroves and palm swamps. As you can see, the natural diversity of the park is staggering, so it is no wonder that the vastness of Darien Park is home to a large number of rare wild animals.
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It should be noted that walking in the virgin forests of Darien and meeting many of its inhabitants is not entirely safe for tourists, so they are at their service developed routes and trained guides.It is quite natural that the Darien National Park is not only the subject of special attention of Panama and Colombia, it is listed among the natural monuments protected by UNESCO.
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Flora and fauna
Darien National Park is famous for its rich flora and fauna Suffice it to say that in an area of over 8. 000 square kilometers there are about 1,800 species of plants, about 500 species of birds and over 200 species of mammals. These include endemics and endangered rare species that can only be seen here, such as the puma, spider monkey, tapir, jaguar, capybaras, howler monkey, big anteater and other animals. If the visitor smiles at luck, he will be able to see a spectacled bear, three-toed sloth. But the numerous population of tapirs in Darein Park should be honored with special attention. These animals have a rather unusual appearance, they are truly unique, because tapirs are difficult to compare with any other animals. Although tapirs belong to the ungulate group, but even with the pig from the same group they have little in common. Firstly, tapirs are large animals, and secondly, they are herbivores.
.The first thing that catches the eye when looking at a tapir is its trunk, short, strong, it serves as a real grasp, like the trunk of an elephant. Young tapirs are colored in spots and stripes, which helps them blend in with their surroundings. After the coloration of the animals is equalized: some part of the body remains black (more often the front together with the forelimbs and the rear together with the hind limbs), and some – white (body). The animal’s forelimbs have only 4 toes while the hind limbs have 3, with each toe having a distinctive hoof.
.The size of an adult tapir ranges from 2m (body length) and 150 to 300 kg (mass). In the wild, tapirs live up to 30 years under favorable conditions. The ideal habitat for tapirs is forested areas, but even there the animals try to get close to water bodies. In water tapirs hide from predators, get their food (algae), as well as simply take baths. Outside of bodies of water, tapirs eat berries, leaves and fruit.
In the crowns of trees, in thickets and on the ground have found their home beautiful and disappearing from the face of our planet birds: Falcon – peregrine falcon, blue ara, green ara, South American harpy, yellow-faced amazon. These and many other incredible surprises await the visitor to the park, whose main feature is its pristine nature, isolated from human intervention. Park Darien gives, rare in our time, the opportunity to see firsthand the primitive beauty and pristine nature, and not only nature.
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Population
The territory of the national park is inhabited by the Embera and Kuna Indian tribes, whose way of life has not changed for centuries, which gives a unique opportunity to experience the past directly, to be transported to the patriarchy and naturalness of the primitive economy. It is undoubtedly a dream for any interested person, especially an ethnographer or historian.
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