Isla Contoy

The vegetation is typical of coastal dunes and mangroves which covers more than half of the island, and have recorded 98 species of plants.

Noticias de Cancun | Diario La Verdad

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This place is a small Mexican island located in the state of Quintana Roo, about 30 km north of Isla Mujeres. The island is 8.75 km long and 200 to 700 m, 500 m wide on average, has an area of ​​230 hectares of land.

Since 1961 the island is protected by the Mexican government, and was declared a national park in 1998, it has also been known as “Bird Island”. South of the island is the Ixlaché reef that forms part of the second largest barrier reef in the world.

The word Contoy has two possible origins: from the Mayan words Kom (low or rehollado) and To’oy (coat) terms related to the shallow waters surrounding the island that offered refuge to marine or Mayan word that means Pont Pelican.

On the east side of the island dominated by sand dunes covered with shrubs and trees, the west side is intercepted by saltwater lagoons and shallow, where rampant a lot of marine life.

It is located in the vicinity of the union of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, where there is a mix of currents that carry large amounts of nutrients, ideal for feeding marine species.

At the time of Porfirio Diaz general lighthouse was built Contoy. Since then the island was called The Island of Birds, and he recognized the special importance as a site of concentration of birds. In April 1901 the naturalist E.W. EAGoldman Nelson briefly stayed on the island making observations on birds at the time the residents were informed about the disappearance of a nesting site cariazul bobo, as a result of construction of the lighthouse, from that date there are no records of that this species has nested on the island again.

The Isle was the subject of attention of Mexican conservationists shortly after 1950. Ecotourism supervised and regulated commercial fishing are allowed on the island, under the supervision of the National Protected Areas Commission (CONANP) of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the organization “Amigos de Isla Contoy AC”. Through these efforts the island ecosystems are still intact.

Few service providers authorized to transport to the island to a maximum of 200 visitors per day. Each visitor must obtain advance permission from the national park headquarters in Cancun or Isla Mujeres. In guided activities are expected to visit the lighthouse, the mangroves and the museum where a biologist explains the functioning of ecosystems.
The vegetation of the island is typical of coastal dunes and mangroves which covers more than half of the island, have been counted 98 species of plants. Hawksbill turtles, green and loggerhead turtles nest and lay their eggs on the beaches of the island.

The island is also a sanctuary for 152 species of tropical seabirds such as frigates, brown pelicans, terns, cormorants, etc., Sharing the floor with 14 species of reptiles.
Because the nutrients in the water, you can find lobsters, octopus, shrimp, sardines and huge whale sharks each year, you have recorded 234 species of fish.