There lies an archeological site that has an ecosystem thriving with life within the rainforest of Honduras, where researchers have discovered species once thought extinct and some others unknown to science.
Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program (RAP) and the Government of Honduras ventured deep into an unexplored area of the forest around La Mosquitia, Honduras. They made an extensive survey of the area’s biodiversity with incredible results! Overall, the team documented 246 species of butterflies and moths, 30 bats, 57 amphibians and reptiles, as well as many fish, mammals, and insects. Many of these species are rare and endangered and at least 22 of them have never even been recorded in Honduras before!
There were three specific species the team rediscovered that are exceptionally exciting: the pale-faced bat, which had not been reported in Honduras for over 75 years; the false tree coral snake, which had not been reported in Honduras since 1965; and a type of tiger beetle (Odontochila nicaraguense), which was thought to be endemic to Nicaragua and so it was believed to be totally extinct.
Trond Larsen, director of Conservation International’s rapid assessment program said:
It’s so exciting to get to visit places where literally there’s so few ways to get there. There’s no roads, there’s no logistical infrastructure to access, so you have to helicopter in. And when you do that, you end up visiting places where wildlife tends to be much more abundant.
Larsen mentioned how the animals and creatures that live in the area are not used to human interaction, which allowed for some incredible moments of interaction and education. The explorer also highlights the beauty and serenity of the place. He explains:
Large groups of monkeys, for example, hang out and try to figure out what you are and what’s going on, there’s an opportunity to see tremendous amounts of wildlife. There’s big, old-growth trees that you often just don’t see in places that are more impacted by people. So these massive trees that are hundreds or even thousands of years old, that are just overwhelming in size, it’s amazing to see.
The Mosquitia rainforest is home to many ruins of ancient settlements. There has long been a myth, of a pre-Columbian settlement in this region, known as the “Lost City of the Monkey God” or “La Ciudad Blanca.” In the 1920s, Aviator Charles Lindbergh said he saw it from the sky when he was flying over the region and many explorers have tried and failed to find the legendary spot. However, archeological surveys over the past decade claim to have found the mysterious lost city.
Other researchers remain doubtful that we have truly discovered the “White City”, but what is certainly true is the incredible range of biodiversity being discovered in the area. Regardless of the debate, the region remains one of the most undisturbed rainforests in Central America.
Furthermore, President Juan Orlando Hernández has initiated the Kaha Kamasa Foundation to promote ongoing scientific research and help the government develop strategies for protecting this truly invaluable region.
Dr. John Polisar, Coordinator of the Wildlife Conservation Society Jaguar Program, said:
Because of its presently intact forests and fauna the area is of exceptionally high conservation value. It merits energetic and vigilant protection so its beauty and wildlife persist into the future.
