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Nicaraguan Fauna
The Country's
Biggest Attraction
The Nicaraguan wildlife is the country’s biggest attraction. It is
filled with all kinds of interesting animals, birds, fish, insects
and plants. Nicaragua is a paradise for any animal lover. The
wildlife includes the puma, deer, monkey, armadillo, alligator,
parrot, macaw, peccary, and several species of snakes (some
poisonous). Lake Nicaragua contains the only freshwater sharks in
the world, owing to a prehistoric geological movement that separated
the lake from the Pacific Ocean, gradually changing the ocean water
into fresh water.
Many of these animals are not accessible to the general public
because they are protected national parks of they have made their
homes in rainforests, lakes, mountains and volcanoes.
There are many animals for which Nicaragua is famous for, but the
star is definitely 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. The event is magical to watch – as are the
hatchings of these precious little creatures. Unfortunately the sea
turtle has become an endangered animal and so extensive efforts are
being made to preserve these lovely creatures as much as possible.
Another endangered animal that made its home in Nicaragua is the
American manatee is a large, cylindrically shaped mammal, with
forelimbs modified into flippers, no free hind limbs, and the rear
of the body in the form of a flat, rounded, horizontal paddle. After
a study made in the year 1992, scientist have discovered that in
Nicaragua there were only 71 manatees. The reason that this animal
is near extinction is commercial exploitation and extensive
subsistence hunting.
The manatee was hunted for its meat as well as
for its hide, oil and bones (used as charms) which were said to
possess curative properties. Nowadays, the American manatee
continues to decline in many areas because of pollution, habitat
alteration such as the draining of marshes and the silting up of
coastal feeding grounds, drowning due to incidental entanglement in
fishnets and damage from the propellers of powerboats
Lake Nicaragua and the River San Juan have the distinction of being
home to the only known fresh water sharks in the world. It is
surmised that as the bull sharks slowly progressed up the river,
they eventually adjusted until they were able to live in the
freshwater of the Lake. The best way to see them is by snorkeling,
swimming and scuba diving in the lake.
If you are a cat lover, you will be pleased to know that Nicaragua
is also home of one of the most beautiful and impressive cats: the
jaguar. This is actually the largest wild cat to be found in
Nicaragua. However it is not the only kind. Nicaragua has several
wildcat species, which include the puma, the cougar, the jaguarondi,
the margay and the ocelot. If you love cats, make sure you do your
best to spot all these lovely felines.
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