Page 31 - NORTHERN PLAINS TOURIST GUIDE

Arenal Huetar Conservation Area (ACAHN)
Many species are migratory or visit the area for nesting or wintering, especially waterfowl families.
Mammals present elements of both regions, the vast majority of mammals are small in size and have nocturnal or cryptic habits, difficult to observe. All bats, insectivores and marsupials and a large part of rodents. Some of the best known and easiest to observe diurnal mammals are squirrels, monkeys, peccary, deer, and tapir. Nocturnal animals include jaguar, ocelot, margay and jaguarundi.
There is a great diversity of bats, several species of marsupials such as the opossum, several families of carnivores, including felines, like the jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay and jaguarundi. There are also relatively abundant populations of tapir, deer, peccary, many rodents such as agouti, paca and others, like sloths and rabbits. Primates are also an interesting group, with three species: howler monkey, spider monkey and white-faced monkey.
As invertebrates go, insects play an extraordinary role in terms of species richness and diversity of forms and groups. The diversity of habitats is reflected in the richness of invertebrate species, such as bumblebees, butterflies, wasps and
ants. Other groups, particularly some orders of aquatic insects, are poorly known, while species inventory studies have found and described hundreds of new species in other groups of insects. Insects of particular importance include plant defoliators, pollinators, carnivores, scavengers, agricultural pests and vectors of both human and animal diseases.
There are a large number of areas, within ACAHN’s, that are not exactly parks but fall under another category in the protected areas system, such as the Arenal Volcano Emergency Zone and the Laguna Las Camelias, Maquenque and Corredor Fronterizo Wildlife Refuges.
There are three national parks of great importance in this area of which the Arenal Volcano National Park and Caño Negro National Park can be visited by the public. While the Juan Castro Blanco National Park is also in of the area, it cannot be visited by the public because it lacks adequate facilities. However, there are private farms in the protected area that offer options for guided tours.
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