La Mosquitia is a dense tropical forest, and one of the largest rainforests in Central America, located in the eastern-most corner of Honduras, and the northern tip of Nicaragua.
Until recently, it had been one of the few parts of the world that had been undiscovered.
In 2013, the archaeologists discovered this rainforest with the help of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology and found a lost city buried inside of this rainforest.
Since then, experts have been studying these rainforests to unearth more details regarding the ancient North American civilization of Mesoamericans. They are also investigating these rainforests to understand the wildlife of this region.
And the recent discovery was more exciting than experts had anticipated. They have discovered a fantastic environmental system that included countless species of both animals and plants. Some of these are those that had been considered extinct!
In 2017, a team of experts belonging to the “Conservation International Rapid Assessment Program,” conducted fortnightly research in these rainforests. They prepared a list of rare species that they found while swimming in the River Platano.
Of the species discovered in La Mosquitia rainforests, 22 are those that were never heard of before in Honduras. Three of the discovered species are those that were considered extinct long ago: the pale-faced bat, the false tree coral snake and a tiger beetle that were seen only in Nicaragua before, and were considered to have been extinct.
The team of experts prepared a list of hundreds of plants, butterflies, insects, birds, reptiles, fish, mammals.
Various kinds of wild cheetahs have also been found in these dense forests.
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These forests are stretched to an area around 850,000 acres, with average tree sizes of around 30 meters; some are even over 50 meters taller. It explains the impregnability of this rainforest.
The researchers were brought here in helicopters escorted by the armed forces. The weeds and leaves were so huge and thick that these experts had to use cutters to make their ways.
In addition to this, La Mosquitia is also a significant source of absorbing the poisonous gases. However, this region is threatened by animal trafficking and deforestation.
At least 90 percent of damage to this rainforest is due to the illegal rearing of cattle. Now, the Honduras government has deployed its armed forces to protect the rainforest.
In 2018, the government had planned a program to protect these rainforests and the ruins of its ancient city.
For centuries, people had no access to this city, which explains why it remained immune from plunder. Many other ancient places that discovered in central America had not been that lucky.
