El Guacharo National Park ( Spanish: Parque nacional El Guácharo ) is located on the southern slopes of the Sierra Cuman mountains [1] , 12 km from the cities of Caripe , Monagas , Venezuela . In its central part is a large cave Guacharo (Guajaro), composed of limestone.
| El Guacharo National Park | |
|---|---|
| Spanish El guácharo | |
 Entrance to the Guacharo Cave | |
| IUCN Category II ( National Park ) | |
| basic information | |
| Square | 627 km² |
| Average height | 900-2340 m |
| Established | May 27, 1975 |
| Location | |
| A country |
|
| Nearest town | Caripe |
In September 1799, the cave was visited by Alexander von Humboldt [2] , who discovered that thousands of birds inhabiting it belong to a species unknown to science. The researcher named these nocturnal fruit-eating birds in honor of the city of Karipe - Steatornis caripensis Humb. (Russian name - guaharo ) [3] .
Cave
Guacharo Cave is a karst cavity in limestone with a length of over 10 km, with many chambers and spectacular bumps. Basically, inside the temperature is kept at about 19 ° C and humidity is about 100%.
Guajaro (birds)
Guajaro - fruit-eating birds nesting in galleries adjacent to the inlet; at night they leave the cave in search of food. The Spanish name guácharo is associated with the peculiarities of the acoustic signaling of birds and goes back to the Quechuan waqay (“scream”, “cry”) [4] . The color of the plumage is brownish, with black and white spots. The tail is long. There are bristles around the beak. The tail length of the body is about 48 cm (it can reach 60 cm with a wingspan of 110 cm [5] ).
Guaharo waste products (excrement, riddles , etc.), gradually accumulating, form a layer of guano at the bottom of the cave, which serves as a source of organic matter for the cave ecosystem.
In the evening, when twilight thickens, many birds fly out of the cave, going to feed [5] . This spectacular event can be observed by visitors to the national park.
Guard Status
In 1949, the Guacharo Cave was recognized as a natural monument of Venezuela [2] .
El Guacharo National Park was established on April 24, 1975 [2] with the goal of preserving the caves and forest ecosystems in which guajaros feed. Absolute heights within this specially protected natural area are 900–2340 m [1] .
The national park, which is home to 367 species of birds, is considered one of the key ornithological territories . Guajaro is not in the category of endangered species, but it includes the nesting here ( Diglossa venezuelensis Chapman ) [* 1] . The vanishing representatives of the avifauna also include the subspecies of the celestial sylph Aglaiocercus kingii berlepschi ( Hartert , 1898) [6] [* 2] , which sometimes lives in El Guacharo, which is sometimes interpreted as an independent species [* 3] . The Alliance considers the El Guacharo National Park, coupled with the protected area of the Turumikire massif [* 4], as a territory serving as a refuge for endangered species [* 5] .
Humboldt Museum
Not far from the entrance to the cave is the Alexander Humboldt Museum, founded in 1949 [2] , the exposition of which tells not only about the famous explorer-encyclopedist, but also about the cave, national park and guajaro birds. Opposite the cave is a monument to the great scientist [5] .
Notes
- Comments
- ↑ Thraupidae family - Tanagra
- ↑ Trochilidae family - hummingbird
- ↑ Aglaiocercus berlepschi ( Hartert , 1898)
- ↑ Zona Protectora Macizo Montañoso del Turimiquire, also a key ornithological territory
- ↑ Cordillera de Caripe AZE [7]
- Sources
- ↑ 1 2 Borisov et al., 1985 , p. 220.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Portal caripe.net .
- ↑
- (Fr.) Le voyage aux régions equinoxiales du Nouveau Continent, fait en 1799-1804 , Alexandre de Humboldt, Aimé Bonpland (Paris, 1807, etc.);
- (English) Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent During the Years 1799-1804 (London, 1814, etc.);
- (German) Die Reise in die Äquinoktial-Gegenden des Neuen Continents in den Jahren 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 und 1804 , Alexander von Humboldt, Aimé Bonpland (Vienna, 1827, etc.)
- ↑ El nombre de El Guacharo es onomatopéyico? (Spanish) (inaccessible link) . caripe.net. Date of treatment February 26, 2013. Archived March 28, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 showcaves.com portal .
- ↑ Aglaiocercus kingii berlepschi (Hartert, 1898) (English) (unavailable link) . itis.gov. Date of treatment February 26, 2013. Archived January 3, 2014.
- ↑ Caripe-Paria region (inaccessible link) . birdlife.org. Date of treatment February 26, 2013. Archived November 19, 2015.
Literature
- Borisov V.A., Belousova L.S., Vinokurov A.A. Protected territories of the world. - M .: Agropromizdat, 1985 .-- 310 p. - 17,000 copies.
Links
- Cueva del Guácharo: Oil Bird Cave (inaccessible link) . showcaves.com . - Description of the Guacharo Cave on the speleological portal . Date of treatment February 26, 2013. Archived July 16, 2012.
- Caripe El Jardin de Oriente de Venezuela (Spanish) (link not available) . caripe.net . - Historical information about the city of Karip and its environs . Date of treatment February 26, 2013. Archived March 27, 2013.