Corcovado National Park () is a National Park on the Osa Peninsula, in Osa Canton, located on the southwestern regions of Costa Rica (9° North, 83° West), which is a part of the Osa Conservation Area. Corcovado National Park was established on October 24, 1975 and occupies an area of . It is currently the largest park in Costa Rica and extends over about a third of the Osa Peninsula.
The park has the largest primary forest on the American Pacific coastline and is also one of the few remaining sizable areas of lowland tropical forests in the world. Historically, logging has taken place in lowland areas due to their easy accessibility and the presence of the largest and most abundant economically valuable trees. But in those habitats, which feature the diverse vegetation, are also usually the richest in biodiversity. What is left of the originally rich lowland forests is usually too small an area to support the original natural biodiversity.
Biodiversity
thumb|200px|A [[Margay in Corcovado.]]
thumb|200px|left|Tapir
thumb|200px|Guianan trogon
thumb|200px|left|[[Tamandua anteater]]
thumb|Corcovado National Park
Corcovado is home to the endangered Baird's tapir and a small harpy eagle population. The park's rivers and lagoons are home to the American crocodile and spectacled caiman, along with bull sharks. Several felines are also present, including the jaguar, ocelot, margay, jaguarundi, and puma. All four Costa Rican monkey species are known to live within the park, including the endangered Central American squirrel monkey, white-faced capuchin, mantled howler, and Geoffroy's spider monkey. Other mammals include two-toed and three-toed sloth, collared peccary, northern tamandua, and silky anteater. Poison dart frogs, red-eyed tree frogs, glass frogs, and several species of snake (including the venomous fer-de-lance and bushmaster) are also present within the park.
Most animal sightings can be expected along the coast, including scarlet macaws (the largest population in the country), hermit crabs, pelicans, spider monkeys, tamandua anteaters, pumas, white faced capuchin monkeys, lineated woodpeckers and coatis.
Other animals in the park include Central American squirrel monkeys, mantled howler monkeys, both two-toed and three-toed sloths, agoutis, giant anteaters, great curassows, black hawks, spectacled owls, hummingbirds, 220 species of butterflies, golden orb spiders, otters and raccoons. Four species of sea turtle (green, Pacific ridley, hawksbill, and leatherback) nest on the beaches.
The abundance in wildlife can in part be explained by the variety of vegetation zones, at least thirteen, including montane forest (which covers more than half the park) cloud forest, jolillo forest (palm swamp), prairie forest, alluvial plains forest, swamp forest, freshwater herbaceous swamp and mangrove, together holding over 500 tree species, including purple heart, poponjoche, nargusta, banak, cow tree, espave and crabwood. The high biodiversity is also attributed to Costa Rica's position on a north-south corridor for flora and fauna; part of the "land bridge" and wildlife corridor that links the large continents of North America and South America. In 41,800 hectares, Corcovado houses 2.5% of the world's biodiversity.
The waters of the park are rich in biodiversity. The coasts are wintering and breeding grounds for humpback whales that come each winter. Other baleen whales also migrate through the area such as Bryde's whale. Dolphins such as spinner and rough-toothed, and smaller cetaceans such as false killer whales and killer whales are seasonal migrants to these areas. Manatees are occasionally reported at Manzanillo Beach, Talamanca, and Limon.
Creation
Although Corcovado National Park is a popular tourist destination, there are many threats facing the National Park. Before Corcovado National Park's creation, the government used to release criminals on the peninsula, and many other people would mine the land for gold through various methods, such as panning. These strategies created negative impacts on the ecosystem like soil erosion, water contamination from types of machinery, and trenching. Land development companies, mining, and livestock production led to deforestation and water contamination in the park which contributed to the destruction of aquatic life. The impacts of tourism, mining, and deforestation cause declines in the biodiversity of native Costa Rican terrestrial and aquatic species. The lowland tropical forest features many diverse habitats that are home to various species including endangered and threatened species. There are thousands of species in the park including wild cats, rare birds, sea turtles, sharks, humpback whales, monkeys, and many more. Species in Costa Rica like the jaguar, Baird's tapir, and the peccary are often threatened and even endangered due to commercial development. In 2008, park rangers began to protect certain native species such as peccaries, however, locals would continue to hunt these species because peccaries would damage their crops ultimately damaging their livelihood. Public officials from the Ministry of Public Security, national park rangers, and conservationists from the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve and the Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA) have increased patrolling in the park in an attempt to catch illegal miners. Heavy rainfalls can create dangerous conditions in certain parts of the Osa Peninsula which can deter tourists and those who are not familiar with the region, but not miners and hunters. “Oreros” first came into the Osa Peninsula in the 1930s and this form of livelihood has remained in the region ever since. The negative effects of gold mining on the environment are increased sedimentation in waterways, erosion of streambanks, accelerated evaporation of surface water, and mineral pollution from wastewater.