Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica

Hundreds of years ago Cocos Island was a hideout for pirates (and some say the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's, Treasure Island). Stories tell of buccaneers burying treasures here… Edward Davis in 1685, Benito Bonito in 1820, and William Thompson in 1821, but if they did leave treasure (there is an authentic treasure map, but no one has ever found any) they also left a damaging legacy - pigs and goats. Seafarers left the animals to breed so that they could hunt them for fresh meat on return trips. They also inadvertently introduced rats, as humans do almost everywhere they go (they haven't found rats on the moon yet). Now, as in Hawaii, these three mammals are the scourge of the island and the biggest threat to many of the native species.

Attractions
Cocos Island National Park might be thought of as the little Galapagos of Costa Rica. It is the tip of an ancient volcanic mountain isolated by the surrounding Pacific. It has been colonized over millennia and is covered with dense rainforest, but many of the species found here evolved after their arrival, changing into distinct forms that are found nowhere else in the world. These species are referred to as endemics.

The Cocos Cuckoo, Flycatcher, and Finch, are endemic bird species, and the Finch has a famous cousin- the Darwin's finches of the Galapagos Islands, several hundred kilometers to the south. Other Cocos Island's endemics include 2 lizards, freshwater fish, and nearly a hundred insects.

In the region:
Coco's Island National Park is isolated in the open ocean. The nearest land is Costa Rica 360 miles (600 km) to the east. The Galápagos Islands are the nearest neighbor a few hundred miles further southwest.

When to visit:
It rains throughout the year. Two drier seasons occur from January through March and to a lesser extent in late September and October.

Information on the Web

Extensive information on the ecology and conservation of Cocos Island from the World Wildlife Fund, or National Geographic.