The flora and fauna of Nicaragua is characterized by a very high level of biodiversity. Much of Nicaragua’s wildlife lives in protected areas.
Flora
The flora of Nicaragua is very rich with their more than 10,000 species of plants and vascular trees. Biosfera BOSAWAS’S Reservation constitutes the physical area where the flora and fauna of North and South America converge. Therefore, the botanical diversity of the Reservation is very high although one ignores the number of species exactly.
The vegetation of BOSAWAS is even unknown but judging for the preliminary data of the last inventories, she/he is considered in thousands of species arbustivas and vascular. The botanical diversity of the reservation is very high, being considered in thousands the species arbustivas and vascular.
The arboreal composition of the forests of the region doesn’t present significant changes, due to the high levels of humidity. They are distinguished six types of forests:
- Low forest sub-perennifolio and forest low perennifolio
- Medium forest sub-perennifolio
- Forest medium perennifolio
- High forest sub-perennifolio
- Forest high perennifolio
According to some experts, the vast vegetable wealth of BOSAWAS presents three economic potentials: nutritious, ornamental, and medicinal.
Fauna
Nicaragua is home to several species of New World monkeys, including the Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey, which is currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species. The jaguar is the largest felid that is indigenous to Nicaragua.
Other species include the cougar, jaguarundi, margay, and ocelot. There are a number of unusual mammals found in Nicaragua, including the three-toed sloth, northern tamandua (lesser anteater), and two species of armadillo.
The avifauna (birds) of Nicaragua includes a total of 698 species. Eight of these species, including the Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) and the Great Green Macaw (Ara ambigua), are currently listed by the IUCN as threatened species.
Many of Nicaragua’s birds are brilliantly colored, including various species of parrots, motmots, toucans, trogons, and hummingbirds. The guardabarranco is the national bird of Nicaragua.
Nicaragua is home to many nesting populations of sea turtles, including the hawksbill sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, and the Pacific green turtle (Chelonia mydas agassisi). All of these are endangered or critically endangered species, with declining global populations. Extensive efforts are currently underway to preserve them as much as possible.
The bull shark is a species of shark that can survive for an extended period of time in fresh water. It can be found in Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River, where it is often referred to as the “Nicaragua shark”. Nicaragua has recently banned freshwater fishing of the Nicaragua shark and the sawfish in response to the declining populations of these animals.
Many species of molluscs are indigenous to Nicaragua, including at least 79 species of terrestrial snails and slugs.