Chocoyero-El Brujo Natural Reserve (Spanish: Reserva Natural El Chocoyero-El Brujo) is located in the municipality of Ticuantepe

Ticuantepe

Ticuantepe is a municipality in the Managua department of Nicaragua.-Etymology:Ticuantepe comes from the Nahuatl language of the first inhabitants of Nicaragua...

 in the Managua department

Managua (department)

Managua is a department in Nicaragua. It covers an area of 3,672 km² and has a population of 1,380,300 . The capital is the city of Managua.- Municipalities :# Ciudad Sandino# El Crucero# Managua# Mateare# San Francisco Libre...

 of Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

. Chocoyero-El Brujo is one of 78 protected area

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

s in Nicaragua, and at just 455 acres (1.8 km²) this tropical forest is one of the smallest in size. Chocoyero-El Brujo was declared a natural reserve in 1993 is managed by the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA).

Flora and fauna

Chocoyero-El Brujo is abundant in water, it is home to two waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

s, El Brujo and Chocoyero, named after the parakeets that make the walls of the cliff their home. The abundance of water keeps this natural reserve green with flourishing wildlife. Chocoyero-El Brujo is a main supplier of water to Managua

Managua

Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...

, it supplies 20% of the city's water consumption and about twenty million gallons of water each and every day.

The large amount of biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

 is obvious, with bird species estimated at 113 different species, some of which include toucan

Toucan

Toucans are members of the family Ramphastidae of near passerine birds from the Neotropics. The family is most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five genera and about forty different species...

s, hummingbird

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...

s, and green Pacific Parakeet

Pacific Parakeet

The Pacific Parakeet or Nicaraguan Green Conure is a subspecies of the Green Parakeet. It was long considered a distinct species....

s (Aratinga strenua) known as Chocoyos nationwide. In the reserve, there are 29 species of mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s and 21 types of reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

s and amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s. Among mammals and amphibians some species regularly spotted include tigrillos, agouti

Common agouti

The popular term Agouti designates several rodent species of the genus Dasyprocta that inhabit areas of Middle America, the West Indies, and northern South America. They are related to guinea pigs and look quite similar but have longer legs. The species vary in color from tawny to dark brown with...

s, and deer

Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

. Also common are two types of monkeys, the howler

Howler monkey

Howler monkeys are among the largest of the New World monkeys. Fifteen species are currently recognised. Previously classified in the family Cebidae, they are now placed in the family Atelidae. These monkeys are native to South and Central American forests...

 and the smaller white-face monkey

Capuchin monkey

The capuchins are New World monkeys of the genus Cebus. The range of capuchin monkeys includes Central America and South America as far south as northern Argentina...

s.

Also present are 154 species of plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

s and 217 species of vertebrate

Vertebrate

Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...

s.

Tourism

Chocoyero-El Brujo Natural Reserve is regarded as an important tourist attraction. Each year an estimated 10,000 people visit the reserve. The reserve includes various activities for visitors such as bird watching, bicycling, overnight camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

, guided tours, and an EnviroCamp.

See also

• Protected areas of Nicaragua
• Wildlife of Nicaragua
  Wildlife of Nicaragua
  The fauna of Nicaragua is characterized by a very high level of biodiversity. Much of Nicaragua's wildlife lives in protected areas. There are currently 78 protected areas in Nicaragua, covering more than , or about 17% of its landmass. These protected areas encompass a wide variety of habitats,...
  
  
• Tourism in Nicaragua
  Tourism in Nicaragua
  Tourism in Nicaragua has grown considerably recently, and it is now the second largest industry in the nation. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has stated his intention to use tourism to combat poverty throughout the country. The growth in tourism has positively affected the agricultural,...