[Video] Manado : Bunaken National Park

The Bunaken National Park is a marine park in the north of Sulawesi island, Indonesia. The park is located near the centre of theCoral Triangle, providing habitat to 390 species of coral as well as many fish, mollusc, reptile and marine mammal species. The Park is representative of Indonesian tropical water ecosystems, consisting of seagrass plain, coral reef, and coastal ecosystems.

It was established as a national park in 1991 and is among the first of Indonesia's growing system of marine parks. It covers a total area of 890.65 km², 97% of which is marine habitat. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen. The southern part of the Park covers part of the Tanjung Kelapa coast. (Read Other Interesting Article).

Flora and Fauna

A very rich coral ecosystem covers most of Bunaken National Park, dominated by fringing reef and barrier reef corals. There are about 390 species of coral recorded in the waters of the Park. A distinct feature is a 25-50 metre vertical coral wall which is inhabited by 13 coral genus. The seaweeds that can be found here include Caulerpa, Halimeda, and Padina species, while the dominant seagrasses, in particular in the islands of Montehage and Nain, are Thalassia hemprichii, Enhallus acoroides, and Thalassodendron ciliatum. The park is also abundant in different species of fish, marine mammals and reptiles, birds, molluscs and mangrove species.

About 90 species of fish live in the waters of the park, among them being the Emperor Angelfish, Almaco Jack, Spotted Seahorse, Bluestripe Snapper, Pinkish Basslet and Two-lined monocle bream. The species of mollusc include the Giant Clam, Horned Helmet Shells, Chambered Nautilus, and ascidians.

It is claimed that this park has seven times more genera of coral than Hawaii, and more than 70% of all the known fish species of the Indo-Western Pacific.

On land, the islands are rich in species of palm, sago, woka, silar and coconut. Among the animal species that live on the land and the beaches are Celebes crested macaque, Timor Deer, and Sulawesi bear cuscus. The mangrove forest of the Park contains, among others Rhizophora and Sonneratiaspecies. This forest is also rich in species of crab, lobster,mollusc, and sea birds such as gulls, herons, sea doves, and storks. (Source).