Tayrona National Park
The Tayrona Park is located in the northern and Caribbean part of Colombia, specifically in the Magdalena district, and it is part of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, which is a mountain range, full of diversity, since there live 300 species of birds, 15 of amphibian, 13 of reptiles, and 105 of mammals. The area is also covered by not only land, but the sea, so the marine biodiversity is very varied. In total, the land covers 150 square km and 30sq km of sea area.
Climate
The climate in Tayrona Park is similar to the tropical one, as there is a season of rainfall from May to June, and a second from September to November. Although, there are two arid seasons, with the first one being from December to April. The most intense arid temperature lasts 2 weeks, in between July and August. Finally, the average temperature is equal to 29° C.
Flora and ecosystems
The park is very rich in biodiversity, it has 5 different ecosystems
Dry Forest
This biome is the most common in the region, as almost one-third of the vegetation is found here. The predominant trees are the ceiba, the Brazilwood tree, Aromo, trupillo shrub, the guamacho, or the prickly pear cactus.
Tropical Forest
This is a very humid era, on which the most viewed plants are the species of palms, such as the wine palm, palma amarga, or the smaller Iraca palm. The wild cashew (caracolí), breadnut (guáimaro), ariza (Brownea ariza), and the Macondo, are other trees that also coexist in this ecosystem. In this region, there begins to be a great variety of mosses, araceae, orchids, and bromeliads, which are common in most tropical areas.
Cloud Forest
In this tropical and even more humid climate, the Trumpet tree, the Coffee Senna, as well as the avocado and the breadnut plants form part of the vegetation.
Mangrove Swamp
In this peculiar ecosystem, the trees and other plants have adapted to the brackish and shallow waters. This ecosystem is found near the river mouths, in which the species of the red, black and white mangrove grow.
American Crocodile/ Caiman Aguja
American Crocodile/ Caiman Aguja
These crocodiles that can measure from 3 to even 7 meters are the ones who inhabit the brackish waters of the Mangroves swamps. As they are lonely animals, they spend most of their active time during the night, when they tend to be submerged in the water. They are carnivorous, who usually hunt fishes, amphibians, turtles, and rare birds or mammals. During the day, they stay on the shore of the waters, so that they can bask in the sun, with their mouths open, and go through the process called “gaping”. With this, they are able to regulate the temperature of their body.
They have a green color, sometimes with black trademarks, as well as they have a snout that becomes larger and thinner at the tip. In contrast to what most people think, they only attack humans when feeling in danger, as they are overprotective with the younger species. When feeling threatened, they gather together to protect themselves. However, in Tayrona, there have not been many attacks reported.