Morrocoy National Park
The Morrocoy National Park is a national park located on the easternmost coast of the Falcón state and in the northwest of the Golfo Triste; in the central western Venezuelan coast, near the towns of Boca de Aroa, Tucacas, Sanare, Chichiriviche, Flamenco and Tocuyo de la Costa. It was declared a national park on May 26, 1974 and consists of 32,090 inhabitants.
The park extends both terrestrial and aquatic areas of Golfo Triste, contains a mangrove area and a large number of islets or cays, among which are Borracho, Muerto, Sombrero, Sal, Las Animas and Peraza, among others, with spectacular beaches of white sands such as Mero beach, Paiclás, Punta Brava, Mayorquina, Playuela, Playuelita, Sur (popularly known as blue for the blue of its waters), North, Boca Seca, Playa Muerto and many more; as well as low (without shore) as Bajo Cayman, Tucupido and Los Juanes.
In the relief they emphasize the hill Morrocoy, with elevations of 250 msnm; the set of inlets and internal mangroves and the cays and islands.
Fauna.
With respect to the fauna in the park, there are numerous avifauna species, approximately 266, reported for the Cuare Wildlife Refuge. Due to the fact that the Morrocoy National Park and the Cuare Wildlife Refuge are located in the same geographical area, it is inferred that there must be a similar number for the park, among which the osprey, vulnerable species such as flamenco, the heron palette, the pelican species of the avifauna whose favorite habitat is the mangrove vegetation where nests and rests, cotua, chusmita or white heron, the curassow paují, the amazona royal parrot, the corocoro, the snowy egret and the species considered of restricted distribution as the frigate or sea earwig. The mangroves of Morrocoy Bay are excellent bird sanctuaries; especially on the island of Pájaros, which is a mangrove covered cay located in the central area of the park.
There are also numerous marine reptiles, among which marine turtles such as the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle, the cardon turtle, the loggerhead turtle and the alligator of the coast, all considered in danger of extinction. Mammals include both marine mammals (dolphins, whales) that use the park as a refuge, as well as the different terrestrial mammal species, which are mostly located in Cerro Chichiriviche, among which we can mention the deer and matacán deer caramerudo, the bear melero, the crab-eating fox, the araguato monkey, the sloth, the rabipelado, the limpet, the picure and the cinchiro cinquiro. The fish that reproduce in the park are the grouper, mixines, snapper, curbina, tarpon, snook, toadfish, dogfish, sardines, horse mackerel, corocoro, picúa, cachama negra, as well as fish that live in the coral reefs. Among the mollusks and crustaceans: the mangrove oyster, sea hare, quigua, there are 2 types of lobster Panulirus argus -Panulirus grettatus, blue and red crabs, crabs, among other species. There is a diverse variety of insects, although there is not yet an information survey for the area
Flora.
It corresponds to the tropical dry forest life zone. It presents a quite varied vegetation and is closely associated with the geomorphological positions; and to the most outstanding subsets of the relief of the area: coast, coastal lagoons, marshes, salt shoals, cays, shallow sea beds. They are reported from evergreen plants such as the olive, to deciduous plants such as the naked Indian. There are plants adapted to high salinity soils as in the case of glass grass. Continuing towards the eastern slope of the Chichiriviche hill, the Mayorquina sector, one can observe xerophite vegetation of the cactus family, tunas and cardones. There are also four mangrove species reported for Venezuela: red mangrove, black mangrove, white mangrove, buttonhole mangrove; the mangroves constitute the vegetation or the dominant vegetal landscape of this National Park; they form an ecologically fragile unit that allows the ecological balance of the coastline to be conserved, in an area of approximately 4,500 ha, which is the total area of this plant unit. Among the underwater marine vegetation, there is a great diversity of algae, among them the marine phanerogam, which is one of the favorite foods of the green turtle.
Weather.
The climate is warm tropical with influences from the northeast trade winds, with low precipitation rates. Relatively uniform temperature during the year between 27 and 35 ° C. In cold season, temperatures between 23 and 26 ºC can be observed. The rainiest period extends from August to December; particularly in November and December.
source: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parque_nacional_Morrocoy