Lacandona Jungle
The Lacandona Jungle is located in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, specifically in the East part. The total area of this jungle extends to 1.8 million hectares, in which 3,400 species of plants can be found, as well as 114 mammals, 84 reptiles, and 345 types of birds.
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Climate
The tropical humid climate is the one that is found in the jungle. The average temperature is equal to 22° C, but it can vary to 26°C. The rainfall and precipitation are very predominant during 9 months, and even to the 12 months of the year.
Flora and ecosystems
The two most important ecosystems of the region are the Evergreen high Rainforest, and the Mountain Mesophyll Forest, which are very dense vegetation. The trees are extremely tall, reaching from 30 to even 5o meters, and some of these species are the Kapok tree, guanandi, Mahogany, Terminalia Amazonia (Cortés Amerillo), the Breadnut (ramón, or nogal maya), or the cedar tree.
In the understory part of the jungle, that is the vegetation in which the youngest trees, as well as the shrubs and smaller plants, can be found, there are many types of palm trees. Some of these are the Neanthe bella palm, the Xate palm (Chamaedorea oblongata), and the Chamaedorea ernesti-augusti (called the palma ‘pata de vaca’). Moreover, there are species of climbing plants, vines, and lianas, in addition to bromeliads like the ixtle flowering plant, or the species of orchids like the Vanilla orchid.Â
Issues: socio-economic issues regarding the increase of the demand for land for agriculture and livestock. This caused the deforestation of large areas of the jungle that started to increase in 1955, with the modernization of machinery.
Fauna
Jaguar
The jaguar is the greatest animal on the American continent and the third biggest feline in the world. With the size between 1.12 and 1.85 meters, the color of the fur of this animal can be varied, as it can be yellow, reddish, and even totally black. The skin is also covered with black rosettes, that have stains in the center, and that serve as camouflage. The head and the body are very robust, and their extremities are short and solid. The reproduction of the jaguars can happen at any time of the year, in which the female usually has a 100 day gestation period. There can be in total from 2 to 4 babies, which are fed by the mother for at least a year, and then, they are still dependent until turning 2 years. During the 2 to 4 years, they become sexually active and fully independent.
The diet of the jaguar is mainly carnivorous, as they consume deers, birds, monkeys, snakes, and fishes. They are very skilled, since they are great fishers and climbers on trees, so it is very easy for them to hunt and find food. The mandible of this species is incredibly powerful, because they often pierce the skulls of their prey, with the help of their tusks. Moreover, they can be herbivores as well, as they can eat plants and fruits.
White lipped peccary / Pecarà de labios blancos
The white-lipped peccary is one of the social animals of Lacandona. With black and gray color in their bodies, as well as with a white tone in the cheeks, these animals are the most active during the day, and they show their incredible social nature while forming large groups with many individuals. These groups can have from 5o to even 300 individuals, and they mutually communicate, by rubbing each other's backs to pass their odors. Also, they make different types of sounds like grunting, snoring, or snapping their teeth to inform them about a potential threat and danger.
This peccary is mostly a frugivore species, but also an omnivore, as their diet is made of leaves, fruits, earthworms, snails, bird eggs, insect larvae, freshwater eels, and the hard palm seeds. Lastly, the peccaries become reproductively active between the 12 and 14 months, and they can have from 1 to 3 babies, who meet a very homelike herd.
The threats that these animals usually have to confront are their loss of habitat and unfortunately hunting since the meat of these species is considered to be precious for some of the settlers that live near to the habitats of the peccaries.
Spider Monkey/ Mono Araña
The spider monkey is best known as being the acrobat of the jungles since these species are always hanging around the various vegetation of the area. For this reason, this monkey has a very specific body structure that helps to fastly move from one tree to another, as they have large and strong arms and legs, as well as very long tails that serve to hang out from the branches. Most of its body is of black color, but its stomach is of a more yellow or brown tone. They can measure from 33 to 58 cm, and their tails can have from 52 to 79 cm.
They are daytime animals that usually move from tree to tree in groups of 5 to 50 individuals, but they still form smaller groups to find food. As they are mostly frugivores, their diet is based on wild fruits, seeds, flowers, leaves, and rarely they can also eat insects. They also try to communicate with sounds, or vocalizations when they feel alarmed. In case of danger, they throw objects or move the branches to create signs. They are very agile, and they impulse each other to jump from one place to another, with the use of their arms or tail. Lastly, they become sexually active at the age of 4 and 5 and can have only one child that it is taking care of for 8 months until it becomes independent from the mother.
Scarlet Macaw / Guacamaya Roja
This parrot of beautiful scarlet red, yellow, and blue colors in its wings, is very predominant in the Lacandona jungle. They have a dark tone in their legs, and also a cream tone in the upper part of their jaw, while a darker black color in the lower part of the jaw. Their lifetime predominates as monogamous, but they can also have different partners during their lives. In the month of November, the reproduction between the species begins, as the pair together explores different options of places, in which they could create the nest.
Once the location is settled, they can have from 1 to even 4 eggs. Finally, the birds are born during the February to May months. Then, the little birds spend between 57 and 65 days with their parents, as they suddenly become independent. In their diet, it can be found many types of fruits, and especially seeds of almost 56 species of vegetables, and 15 types of trees. Their consumption of seeds is very important for the preservation of the ecosystem since, in this way, they can distribute the different types of seeds through the field.