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The Most Biodiverse Park on Earth
Where the Andes plunge into the Amazon basin, Madidi National Park protects nearly 19,000 square kilometers of wilderness spanning elevations from 180 meters in the lowland rainforest to over 5,700 meters atop glaciated peaks. This dramatic gradient, one of the steepest on Earth, creates a staggering diversity of habitats: high Andean grasslands, cloud forests perpetually shrouded in mist, humid montane forests draped in orchids and bromeliads, and the dense lowland jungle of the Amazon itself. In 2018, the Wildlife Conservation Society formally recognized Madidi as the most biologically diverse protected area on the planet.
The numbers are staggering: 272 mammal species including jaguar, puma, and spectacled bear; over 1,254 bird species representing 14% of all birds on Earth; 496 fish species; 213 amphibians; 204 reptiles; more than 120,000 insect species; and over 5,000 documented plant species with new ones still being discovered. A 14-year botanical study identified at least 132 plant species entirely new to science. Perhaps most famous is the Madidi titi monkey, an endemic primate discovered so recently that scientists auctioned the naming rights to fund park rangers. The winning bidder paid $650,000, now generating permanent income for conservation.
