Coiba separated from continental Panama about 12,000 to 18,000 years ago when sea levels rose. Plants and animals on the new island became isolated from mainland populations and over the millennia most animals have diverged in appearance and behaviour from their mainland counterparts. The island is home to many endemic subspecies, including the Coiba Island howlermonkey, the Coiba agouti and the Coiba spinetail.
In 1919 a penal colony was built on the island and during the years that Panama was under the dictatorships of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega, the prison on Coiba was a feared place with a reputation for brutal conditions, extreme tortures, executions and political murder. Nobody knows exactly how many people were killed in the prison during this period, but sources claim that the number could be close to three hundred. As such, the island was avoided by locals, and other than the prison, was completely undeveloped.
After the prison was closed down in 2004, the island's pristine condition made it ideal as a reserve. It is now said that the prison is haunted by the ghosts of prisoners. One story is that a guard was chasing a prisoner, but the prisoner was a ghost. The guard was so scared that he shot himself. It is also one of the last places in Central America where the scarlet macaw can be found in large numbers in the wild. The island is about 75% forested with a large fraction standing ancient forest. Coiba Island is home to rare flora and fauna found only on the island.[1] The island also harbours tree species that have long disappeared from the mainland due to deforestation and overharvesting.
Coiba National Park
In 1992, Panama created Coiba National Park, encompassing over 1,042 square miles of islands, forests, beaches, mangroves and coral reefs, and in July 2005, Unesco declared it a World Heritage Site.[2] The park includes Coiba island, 38 smaller islands off the southwest coast of Panama, and the surrounding marine areas within the Gulf of Chiriquí[3] providing protection for coral reefs, humpback whales, pilot whales, killer whales, dolphins, sea turtles, manta rays, marlins and other marine creatures.[4]
Due to the Gulf of Chiriquí's capacity to buffer against the effects of El Niño temperature swings, the marine ecosystems within Coiba National Park harbor a high degree of biodiversity. The park harbors 760 species of marine fishes, 33 species of sharks and 20 species of cetaceans.[3]
References
^"How a Deadly Prison Island Became a Natural Paradise". 29 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
^ Leonard, Thomas M. (2015). Historical Dictionary of Panama. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 81.
^ ab "Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection". UNESCO.
^ "The Coiba National Park, declared a world heritage site by UNESCO". Madrid. July 20, 2005.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coiba National Park.
Coiba National Park
Video of diving in Coiba
Coiba travel guide from Wikivoyage
January 13, 2023
coiba, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 2013, lear. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Coiba news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Coiba is the largest island in Central America with an area of 503 km2 194 sq mi off the Pacific coast of the Panamanian province of Chiriqui It is part of the Tole District of that province Coiba National ParkIUCN category II national park Isla Granito de Oro Coiba National ParkLocation in PanamaLocationChiriqui PanamaCoordinates7 28 N 81 47 W 7 467 N 81 783 W 7 467 81 783 Coordinates 7 28 N 81 47 W 7 467 N 81 783 W 7 467 81 783Area503 square kilometres 194 sq mi Established1992UNESCO World Heritage SiteOfficial nameCoiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine ProtectionTypeNaturalCriteriaix xDesignated2005 29th session Reference no 1138revState PartyPanamaRegionLatin America and the Caribbean Contents 1 History 2 Coiba National Park 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditCoiba separated from continental Panama about 12 000 to 18 000 years ago when sea levels rose Plants and animals on the new island became isolated from mainland populations and over the millennia most animals have diverged in appearance and behaviour from their mainland counterparts The island is home to many endemic subspecies including the Coiba Island howler monkey the Coiba agouti and the Coiba spinetail Coiba was home to the Coiba Cacique Indians until about 1560 dubious discuss when they were conquered by the Spanish and forced into slavery citation needed In 1919 a penal colony was built on the island and during the years that Panama was under the dictatorships of Omar Torrijos and Manuel Noriega the prison on Coiba was a feared place with a reputation for brutal conditions extreme tortures executions and political murder Nobody knows exactly how many people were killed in the prison during this period but sources claim that the number could be close to three hundred As such the island was avoided by locals and other than the prison was completely undeveloped After the prison was closed down in 2004 the island s pristine condition made it ideal as a reserve It is now said that the prison is haunted by the ghosts of prisoners One story is that a guard was chasing a prisoner but the prisoner was a ghost The guard was so scared that he shot himself It is also one of the last places in Central America where the scarlet macaw can be found in large numbers in the wild The island is about 75 forested with a large fraction standing ancient forest Coiba Island is home to rare flora and fauna found only on the island 1 The island also harbours tree species that have long disappeared from the mainland due to deforestation and overharvesting Coiba National Park EditIn 1992 Panama created Coiba National Park encompassing over 1 042 square miles of islands forests beaches mangroves and coral reefs and in July 2005 Unesco declared it a World Heritage Site 2 The park includes Coiba island 38 smaller islands off the southwest coast of Panama and the surrounding marine areas within the Gulf of Chiriqui 3 providing protection for coral reefs humpback whales pilot whales killer whales dolphins sea turtles manta rays marlins and other marine creatures 4 Due to the Gulf of Chiriqui s capacity to buffer against the effects of El Nino temperature swings the marine ecosystems within Coiba National Park harbor a high degree of biodiversity The park harbors 760 species of marine fishes 33 species of sharks and 20 species of cetaceans 3 References Edit How a Deadly Prison Island Became a Natural Paradise 29 April 2017 Retrieved 7 April 2018 Leonard Thomas M 2015 Historical Dictionary of Panama Rowman amp Littlefield p 81 a b Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection UNESCO The Coiba National Park declared a world heritage site by UNESCO Madrid July 20 2005 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coiba National Park Coiba National Park Video of diving in Coiba Coiba travel guide from Wikivoyage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Coiba amp oldid 1124276224 Coiba National Park, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
