Governing body SINAP Established August 5, 2002 | Area 38.5 km² | |
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Similar Old Providence McBean, Los Flamencos Sanctuary, Rosario and San Bernardo, Serranía de Macuira, Doña Juana‑Cascabel Volcanic | ||
The "El mono Hernández" Cork Forest Flora and Fauna Sanctuary (Spanish: Santuario de Fauna y Flora El Corchal "El mono Hernández") is a natural monument located in the Sucre and Bolívar Departments on the coast of the Caribbean Region of Colombia.
Contents
The park is named in honor of Colombian naturalist Jorge Ignacio "El Mono" Hernández-Camacho (1935–2001), one of the founders of Colombia's National Natural Park System.
Climate
Average temperature is 28°C and yearly rainfall is 1100 mm with the largest precipitation in April and November. The warmest months are June and July, and the driest period is between December and April.
Flora and fauna
Mangrove and cork swamp forests are protected within the area. Mangroves covers about half of the area, located in the western and northern parts of the sanctuary. The mangroves are dominated by five species, red mangrove, black mangrove, white mangrove, buttonwood and neotropical mangrove. The swamps is the only place in the Colombian Caribbean Region where pure corchales, "cork" forests, grow, dominated by Pterocarpus officinalis, and with a total area of 401 hectares.
It is home to 153 species of birds, the great diversity is due to the quantity of food produced in the surrounding waters. A number of species feed on the marsh vegetation, including the endangered West Indian manatee. Other noteworthy animals are the jaguar, brown caiman and howler monkey.