Nicaragua has a wide variety of wildlife, most of which live in wildlife reserves and live in rainforests, lakes, mountains, and volcanoes throughout the country. Bosawas Biosphere Reserve covers 1.8 million acres making is the 2nd largest reserve in the Americas after the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and is extremely rich in Biodiversity. Various species of deer are commonly seen wildlife across the Americas and Eurasia. ... A nature reserve (natural reserve, nature preserve, natural preserve) is an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. ... The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... A man-made lake in Keukenhof, Netherlands A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size surrounded by land. ... The Bosawas Biosphere Reserve in the northern part of Nicaragua is a hilly tropical forest designated in 1997 as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. ... Map of the Amazon rainforest ecoregions as delineated by the WWF. Yellow line encloses the Amazon rainforest. ... Rainforests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variation of taxonomic life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. ...

Overview

Nicaragua has 78 wildlife & nature reserves that shelter a wide range of ecosystems. Flora and fauna species are in the thousands. There are about 12,000 vegetable classified species, another 5,000 not classified yet and there are more than 1,400 classified animal species. [1] There are also over 250,000 insect species. A nature reserve (natural reserve, nature preserve, natural preserve) is an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. ... An ecosystem, a contraction of ecological and system, refers to the collection of biotic and abiotic components and processes that comprise and govern the behavior of some defined subset of the biosphere. ... Simplified schematic of an islands flora - all its plant species, highlighted in boxes. ... Fauna is a collective term for animal life of any particular region or time. ... Orders See taxonomy Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species — more than all other animal groups combined [1]. Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a...

Sea Turtles

A sea turtle on the beach in Nicaragua.

Perhaps the creature that Nicaragua is best known for is the sea turtle. Each year thousands of sea turtles make the journey from the sea to the beach where they spend the entire night digging and nest and laying their eggs before returning to the waters. Unfortunately the sea turtle has become an endangered animal and so extensive efforts are being made to preserve them as much as possible. [2] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 88 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 88 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Genera Family Cheloniidae (Oppel, 1811) Caretta Lepidochelys Chelonia Eretmochelys Natator Family Dermochelyidae Family Protostegidae (extinct) Family Toxochelyidae (extinct) Family Thalassemyidae (extinct) Sea turtles (Chelonioidea) are turtles found in all the worlds oceans with the exception of the Arctic Ocean, and some species travel between oceans. ... Sea as seen from jetty in Frankston, Australia Look up maritime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Beach in Calella, Spain. ...

Guardabarranco (Turquoise-browed Motmot): the national bird

Image File history File links Guardabarranco. ... Image File history File links Guardabarranco. ... Binomial name Eumomota superciliosa (Sandbach, 1837) The Turquoise-browed Motmot (Eumomota superciliosa) is a colourful, medium-sized bird of the motmot family, Momotidae. ...

Nicaragua Shark

Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River is home to the Nicaragua shark which is the worlds only freshwater shark [3]. Nicaragua has recently banned freshwater fishing of the Nicaragua shark and sawfish because of population declines. [4] Lake Nicaragua (Spanish: Lago de Nicaragua) or Lake Cocibolca (Lago Cocibolca) is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua and it is of tectonic origin. ... The San Juan River may refer to: The San Juan River in Argentina. ... Binomial name Carcharhinus leucas (Müller and Henle, 1839) Range of bull shark The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as the bull whaler, Zambezi River shark or colloquially Zambi, is common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts, and well-known for its unpredictable, often aggressive behaviour. ... Binomial name Carcharhinus leucas (Müller and Henle, 1839) Range of bull shark The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as the bull whaler, Zambezi River shark or colloquially Zambi, is common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts, and well-known for its unpredictable, often aggressive behaviour. ... See: Sawfish is a window manager for Unix systems running X. Sawfish is a type of cartilaginous fish. ...

Animals of Nicaragua

Birds

There are over 400 of species alone just in the Indio Maiz Biological reserve. Some of the country's most common birds are:

• Guardabarranco which is Nicaraguas National bird.
• Chocoyos which are green parrots mainly found in the Masaya volcano area.
• Toucans
• Macaws

Families Cacatuidae Psittacidae Parrots or Psittacines (pronounced [1],[2]) is an order (namely Psittaciformes) of birds that includes about 353 species. ... Masaya is a stratovolcano in Nicaragua, Central America, with a city of the same name. ... Genera Aulacorhynchus Pteroglossus Baillonius Andigena Selenidera Ramphastos Toucans are near passerine birds from the neotropics. ... Genera Ara Anodorhynchus Cyanopsitta Propyrrhura Orthopsittaca Diopsittaca For other uses, see Macaw (disambiguation). ...

Felines

Felines in Nicaragua include the jaguar, which is the largest feline found in the country. Other big cat species include: Subfamilies Felinae Pantherinae †Machairodontinae The Felidae family includes the Lion, the Tiger, the Domestic Cats, and other felines as its members. ... For other uses, see Jaguar (disambiguation). ... Big cat refers to large wild felines of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. ...

• Pumas
• Cougars

A Jaguar, the largest feline in Nicaragua.

• Jaguarondis
• Margays
• Ocelots

Binomial name Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771) Puma range map The puma (Puma concolor), also known as the cougar or mountain lion, is a large, solitary cat found in the Americas. ... Binomial name Puma concolor (Linnaeus, 1771) Cougar range map Synonyms Felis concolor The cougar (Puma concolor), also known as the puma or mountain lion, is a large, solitary cat found in the Americas. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1333x2000, 503 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Jaguar User:Cburnett Wikipedia:Featured pictures candidates/October-2006 Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Jaguar Metadata This file contains... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1333x2000, 503 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Jaguar User:Cburnett Wikipedia:Featured pictures candidates/October-2006 Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Jaguar Metadata This file contains... Binomial name Leopardus wiedii (Schinz, 1821) The Margay (Leopardus wiedii, or Felis wiedii) is a spotted cat native to Central and South America. ... Binomial name Leopardus pardalis (Linnaeus, 1758) Ocelot range The Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), also known as the Painted Leopard or McNenneys Wildcat, is a wild cat distributed over South and Central America and Mexico, but has been reported as far north as Texas and in Trinidad, in the Caribbean. ...

Unusual animals in Nicaragua

If you’re looking for more unusual creatures, you will find several in Nicaragua. [5]

• The three-toed sloth may not seem to move much at all if you spot them since it takes them six hours to travel just one mile.
• The Tamandua anteater is roughly four feet long and has massive claws.
• The Armadillo which is a shelled creature that lives off insects.

Green: , Blue: , Red: Species Bradypus pygmaeus Bradypus torquatus Bradypus tridactylus Bradypus variegatus The three-toed sloths are the only members of the Bradypus genus and the Bradypodidae family. ... Species Tamandua tetradactyla Tamandua mexicana Tamandua is a genus of anteaters. ... For other uses, see Armadillo (disambiguation). ...

Indio-Maíz Biological Reserve

Indio-Maíz Biological Reserve is the largest expanse of lowland rain forest reserve, referred to as the finest rain forest nature reserve in Central America by UCLA biologists [6] and alone is home to: Binomial name Ucla xenogrammus Holleman, 1993 The largemouth triplefin, Ucla xenogrammus, is a fish of the family Tripterygiidae and only member of the genus Ucla, found in the Pacific Ocean from Viet Nam, the Philippines, Palau and the Caroline Islands to Papua New Guinea, Australia (including Christmas Island), and the... A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ...

• 400 species of birds
• four species of wild cats &
• more than 200 species of reptiles.

Endangered Species in Nicaragua

A White-faced Capuchin Monkey

There are many endangered animal species in Nicaragua. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1505x1473, 620 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Cebidae White-headed Capuchin Capuchin monkey Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1505x1473, 620 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Cebidae White-headed Capuchin Capuchin monkey Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera... An endangered species is a species whose population is so small that it is in danger of becoming extinct. ...

• White-faced Capuchin Monkeys
• Black-handed Spider Monkeys
• Sea Turtles
• Jaguarondis

Ometepe harbors large populations of the endangered white-faced capuchin monkey. Efforts have been put in to protect these animals. Nicaragua has banned fishing of the Nicaragua shark and sawfish because of population declines. [7], and the Wildlife Conservation Society and FFI has been involved in conservating the sea turtles. [8] Binomial name Cebus capucinus (Linnaeus, 1758) The White-headed Capuchin (Cebus capucinus), also known as the White-faced Capuchin or White-throated Capuchin, is a small New World monkey of the family Cebidae, subfamily Cebinae. ... [[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]] {{{diversity}}} Binomial name Ateles geoffroyi Kuhl, 1820 Trinomial name {{{trinomial}}} Type Species {{{type_species}}} {{{subdivision_ranks}}} [[Image:{{{range_map}}}|{{{range_map_width}}}|]] Synonyms {{{synonyms}}} Geoffroys Spider Monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, is a spider monkey species from Central America. ... Genera Family Cheloniidae (Oppel, 1811) Caretta Lepidochelys Chelonia Eretmochelys Natator Family Dermochelyidae Family Protostegidae (extinct) Family Toxochelyidae (extinct) Family Thalassemyidae (extinct) Sea turtles (Chelonioidea) are turtles found in all the worlds oceans with the exception of the Arctic Ocean, and some species travel between oceans. ... Ometepe Island from space, January 1997 Concepción and Maderas The Island of Ometepe was formed by two volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. ... Binomial name Carcharhinus leucas (Müller and Henle, 1839) Range of bull shark The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as the bull whaler, Zambezi River shark or colloquially Zambi, is common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts, and well-known for its unpredictable, often aggressive behaviour. ... See: Sawfish is a window manager for Unix systems running X. Sawfish is a type of cartilaginous fish. ... Genera Family Cheloniidae (Oppel, 1811) Caretta Lepidochelys Chelonia Eretmochelys Natator Family Dermochelyidae Family Protostegidae (extinct) Family Toxochelyidae (extinct) Family Thalassemyidae (extinct) Sea turtles (Chelonioidea) are turtles found in all the worlds oceans with the exception of the Arctic Ocean, and some species travel between oceans. ...

External Links

• Nicaragua.com on Wildlife
• underwatertimes.com Article on endangered shark in Nicaragua.
• Nature.org
• WCSAdopt-a-turtle fund
• CentralAmerica.comInformation about National Parks
• More info on reserves