Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location within Costa Rica
Location	Alajuela Province, Costa Rica
Nearest city	Upala
Area	25,100 acres (102 km2)
Established	1984
Governing body	National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC)

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge is a Wildlife refuge, part of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area, in the northern part of Costa Rica twenty kilometers south of Los Chiles near the border with Nicaragua in the Alajuela province. The refuge is a wetlands site that is home to many migratory waterfowl during part of the year, centered on Lake Caño Negro which is fed by the Frío River during the rainy season. There are no public facilities at the refuge, and the area can be explored only by boat.

Basisliscus basking in Caño Negro Wildlife Reserve

View of Caño Negro Wildlife Reserve

Small bats resting in the bark of a tree in Caño Negro Wildlife Reserve

The forests, grasslands and marshes of the area provide shelter for various endangered species such as cougars, jaguars, tapirs ' ocelots, peccary and several species of monkey (white-headed capuchin, mantled howler and Geoffroy's spider monkey), as well as many others. In the dry season the river is reduced to little lagoons, channels and beaches which the gives home to thousands of migratory birds of many species such as storks, spoonbills, ibis, anhingas, ducks and cormorants.

External links

• Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge at Costa Rica National Parks