COIBA NATIONAL PARK

Coiba National Park was set up in 1991 over an area of 270.125 hectares, of which 216.543 hectares are marine habitat. Due to its size and wealth of islands and surrounding marine waters, it may be considered on of Panama treasures, Covering an area of 50.314 hectares, the largest of these islands of volcanic origin is Coiba, whose 50.314 hectares also makes I the largest island in the country.
Next to them, the islands of Jicaron (2.002ha), Jacarita (125 ha), Canal de Afuera (240 ha), Afuerita (27 ha), Pajaros (45 ha), Uva (257 ha), Brincando (330 ha), Coibita (242 ha) and many others make up the 53.582 ha of island territory. All in all, the parks' islands cover over 240 km of coastline, which is mostly conserved in its natural state. Paradoxically, the archipelago's good conservation status is basically due to the fact that since 1919 Coiba Island has been used by the Panamanian Government as a penal colony.
On Coiba Island, the coastal plains lying below 100 meters predominate in the north and south - east of the island, while, over the rest of the territory low lying hills scarcely above 200 meters altitude make up the predominant landscape. Only in the central area is there a chain of hills, where the highest pints, such as 416 meter Cerro de San Juan, are located. Average annual temperature is about 26° C and annual average precipitation is around 3.500 mm. The many rivers in Coiba include the 20 kilometer-long Negro with its eight tributaries, the 18.5 - km San Juan and the 17 - km Santa Clara. Primary forests are predominant in Coiba although there are also disturbed forests as a result of the penal colony settlements and forestry activities in times past. 1450 species of vascular plants have been recorded, including many cotton trees (Ceiba pentandra), Panama wood trees (sterculia apetala), `espaves` (Anacardium excelsum), crabwoods (Caraba guianensis), and spiny cedars (Bombacopsis quinatum).
Since 1993 and with the help of the Spanish Co-operation Agency, AECI, the park has had a biological station, which to date has recorded 36 species of mammals, 147 birds and 39 species of amphibians and reptiles, with a high level of endemisms, such as the agouti (Dasyprocta coibensi) and howler monkey (Alouatta coibensis) among the mammals, and the Coiba spinetail (cranioleuca dissita) among the birds.
Coiba is the only place in Panama where it is possible nowadays to see flocks of threatened scarlet macaw (Ara macao). However, the park's great natural wealth lies in the sea. In Damas Bay. There is a coral reef of over 135 hectares, the second largest in the central-eastern Pacific and the largest in the whole Central American region. To date, 69 species of marine fish, 12 echinoderms, 45 molluscs and 13 crustaceans have been identified in the protected area.
The seas of Coiba are also the habitat of four species of cetaceans: the huge humpbacked whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), orca (Orcinus orca), pan - tropical dolphin (Stenella attenuate) and bottlenose dolphin (tursiops truncates). In the park's waters and surrounding area, there have been occasional records of 19 other cetacean species from the Pacific coast of Panama.
On Coiba Island, used for many years as a hideaway for pirates, pre-Columbian remains dating from around 500 AD have been found.