Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tourism in the hopes they will see the economic value of preserving the forest instead of
destroying it for slash-and-burn agriculture.
Among endemic species is the flightless Atitlán grebe
(Podilymbus gigas),
commonly
knownas
poc,
whichwasofficiallydeclaredextinctin1989.Theintroductionofnonnative
large- and smallmouth bass into the lake seems to have precipitated its drastic decline in
numbers from about 200 in 1960 to only 32 in 1983. The bass ate the young grebes as well
as the crabs and fish species on which
poc
fed.
Endemic to the northern Petén region is the Petén ocellated turkey
(Meleagris ocellata),
readily seen strutting around Tikal. It is smaller but much more colorful than its northern
relatives, somewhat resembling a peacock. Other interesting birds found in Guatemala's
tropical forests include the keel-billed toucan
(Ramphastos sulfuratus),
a perennial jungle
favorite because of its large, colorful, banana-like beak. Many of these can be seen at Tikal
around sunrise and sunset flying among the temples peeking from the forest canopy. A
large variety of parrots also inhabit the Petén forests. The most impressive of these is the
scarlet macaw
(Ara macao),
which once inhabited large parts of Petén as well as the Pa-
cific Coastal plain. It now inhabits only very remote parts of the Petén forests. Conserva-
tionists are fighting to save the birds from local extinction and protected nesting sites have
been established in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, specifically in Laguna del Tigre Nation-
al Park. Rounding out the list of noteworthy birds is the harpy eagle
(Harpia harpyja),
a
large, powerful raptor that also enjoys healthy populations at Tikal National Park.
