WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.259 Welcome back to the deep dive. So today I want 00:00:03.259 --> 00:00:05.740 you to just mentally pack your bags. Oh, we are 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:08.839 going on a trip. We are. But and I need to be 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:11.019 really clear about this upfront. Do not pack 00:00:11.019 --> 00:00:13.539 your flip flops. Right. Do not pack your sunscreen 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:16.820 for a day at the beach. And definitely don't 00:00:16.820 --> 00:00:19.920 expect a pina colada by the pool. No. If you're 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:22.640 packing for today's trip, I mean, you need rubber 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:24.820 boots, ideally the ones that go all the way up 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:27.679 to your knees. Exactly. because we are heading 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:29.820 to the Caribbean coast of Columbia. Now that 00:00:29.820 --> 00:00:32.939 usually conjures up images of, you know, white 00:00:32.939 --> 00:00:35.079 sand and turquoise water. A standard tropical 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:38.320 vacation. Right. But we are taking a hard left 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:41.240 turn into something much denser and much darker 00:00:41.240 --> 00:00:43.649 and frankly just... much more fascinating. We're 00:00:43.649 --> 00:00:45.909 heading straight into the swamps. The best kind 00:00:45.909 --> 00:00:48.310 of detour. It really is. Specifically, we're 00:00:48.310 --> 00:00:50.109 looking at a place with a title that just demands 00:00:50.109 --> 00:00:54.630 respect. It's the El Mono Hernandez Cork Forest 00:00:54.630 --> 00:00:57.729 Flora and Fauna Sanctuary. It is quite a mouthful 00:00:57.729 --> 00:00:59.770 of a name, isn't it? It is, yeah. Sanctuario 00:00:59.770 --> 00:01:03.109 de Fauna y Flora El Corchal El Mono Hernandez. 00:01:03.770 --> 00:01:05.750 And I am really glad you emphasized the sanctuary 00:01:05.750 --> 00:01:07.890 part there. Yeah, it's important because this 00:01:07.890 --> 00:01:09.989 isn't a park where you just go to play frisbee 00:01:09.989 --> 00:01:13.069 or have a picnic. It's actually a designated 00:01:13.069 --> 00:01:15.150 natural monument, which is the distinction that 00:01:15.150 --> 00:01:17.409 really stood out to me in the research natural 00:01:17.409 --> 00:01:19.709 monument. I mean, it sounds like a statue or 00:01:19.709 --> 00:01:22.489 some giant rock formation like a monolith. Yeah, 00:01:22.549 --> 00:01:25.489 exactly. But here we are talking about a living, 00:01:25.709 --> 00:01:28.750 breathing, wet ecosystem. Yeah. So why that specific 00:01:28.750 --> 00:01:31.450 classification? Well, it really comes down to 00:01:31.450 --> 00:01:33.840 rarity. So in the conservation world, you have 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:35.859 your national parks, which are usually these 00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:39.379 massive areas that protect entire sweeping landscapes. 00:01:40.219 --> 00:01:42.420 But a natural monument... And this is under the 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:44.780 IUCN classification. So that's the International 00:01:44.780 --> 00:01:47.780 Union for Conservation of Nature. A natural monument 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:50.799 is usually much smaller. It's a category three 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:53.620 protected area, which essentially means, hey, 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:55.840 this specific thing right here, it's totally 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:58.859 unique. It is a landmark. And if we lose this, 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:01.939 we lose a very specific chapter of biological 00:02:01.939 --> 00:02:04.879 history. So the mission of this deep dive is 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:07.040 to really figure out what that monument actually 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:10.020 is. Because on the surface, I mean, it just looks 00:02:10.020 --> 00:02:14.699 like 38 0 .5 square kilometers of swamp sitting 00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:17.240 right on the border of the Sucre and Boulevard 00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:20.240 departments. Just a patch of mud and water to 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:23.780 the untrained eye. Right. But hidden inside that 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:27.319 swamp. is this botanical secret that literally 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:30.500 exists nowhere else in the Caribbean region. 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:34.039 That is the real hook here. It's a total biological 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:36.240 anomaly. But actually, before we get to the trees 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:38.300 in the swamp, we have to talk about the name. 00:02:38.340 --> 00:02:41.099 Oh, yeah, we do. Because El Mano Hernandez is 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:43.699 just this fascinating entry point into the whole 00:02:43.699 --> 00:02:45.879 history of Colombian conservation. OK, let's 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:47.860 definitely unpack this. Because I speak a little 00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:49.419 bit of Spanish. You know I ordered a beer in 00:02:49.419 --> 00:02:52.000 Mexico once? Very impressive. Thank you. And 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:53.840 I know that mono means monkey. It does, yes. 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:55.719 So naturally when I first saw the name, I thought, 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:57.740 great, we're going to a sanctuary named after 00:02:57.740 --> 00:03:00.159 a specific monkey. Right, like a local primate. 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:03.199 Yeah, maybe a golden lion tamarin or some special 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:05.620 howler monkey local to the Caribbean. But then 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:07.800 I dug into the source material, and it turns 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:11.039 out El Modo was a human being. He was very much 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.360 a human being. Jorge Ignacio Hernandez Camacho. 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:18.099 OK. And this is actually a great example of cultural 00:03:18.099 --> 00:03:21.520 context, because down in Columbia, mono is a 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:23.620 really common nickname. But does it mean you 00:03:23.620 --> 00:03:25.719 look like a monkey? No, no, not at all. It's 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:28.759 often used for people who have lighter skin or 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:31.460 lighter hair, so rubio. Ah, I got it. It's just 00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:33.780 a term of endearment. OK, so it's kind of like 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:36.300 calling a redhead red or a really tall guy tiny. 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:38.240 Yeah. It's just the nickname that stuck with 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:41.020 him. Exactly. But in this case, that nickname 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:44.259 belonged to an absolute titan. Yeah, the sources 00:03:44.259 --> 00:03:47.020 made that very clear. Jorge Ignacio Hernandez 00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:50.039 Camacho was born in 1935 and he wasn't just a 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:53.419 casual fan of nature. He was arguably the primary 00:03:53.419 --> 00:03:55.979 architect of how Columbia actually protects its 00:03:55.979 --> 00:03:58.800 environment. Wow. He was this brilliant naturalist 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:01.379 who helped found the entire national natural 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:04.000 park system of Columbia, which is just a massive 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:05.520 legacy. I mean, we aren't just talking about 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.740 a guy who liked bird watching on the weekends. 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:09.979 We are talking about the guy who literally drew 00:04:09.979 --> 00:04:13.099 the conservation lines on the map. Precisely. 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.540 He spent his entire life cataloging biodiversity 00:04:16.540 --> 00:04:20.220 and identifying these critical ecosystems. And 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:22.399 more importantly, fighting for the legal framework 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:24.879 to actually keep them safe. Because you can't 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:27.639 just hope a forest stays untouched. Right. He 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:30.199 understood that you can't just hope nature survives. 00:04:30.259 --> 00:04:32.459 You have to legislate it. You have to build legal 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:34.699 walls around it. And the timeline here is actually 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:37.279 pretty poignant because he passed away in 2001. 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:40.620 He did. And this sanctuary was established on 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:43.970 August 5th, 2002. So just barely a year later. 00:04:44.430 --> 00:04:47.069 Exactly. Meaning that naming this place El Mono 00:04:47.069 --> 00:04:49.889 Hernandez wasn't just some branding exercise 00:04:49.889 --> 00:04:52.769 by a committee, it was a memorial. It was the 00:04:52.769 --> 00:04:55.209 ultimate tribute, really. Imagine spending your 00:04:55.209 --> 00:04:57.790 life building a system to protect the planet 00:04:57.790 --> 00:05:00.209 and then right after you're gone, your country 00:05:00.209 --> 00:05:02.709 takes this piece of land, a piece of land that 00:05:02.709 --> 00:05:05.389 is scientifically irreplaceable, and says, this 00:05:05.389 --> 00:05:07.689 is yours. We are putting your name on the map 00:05:07.689 --> 00:05:09.970 permanently. It genuinely gives me goosebumps. 00:05:10.310 --> 00:05:11.790 It changes the way you look at a map. It's not 00:05:11.790 --> 00:05:13.610 just geography anymore, it's biography. That's 00:05:13.610 --> 00:05:15.910 a great way to put it. But you mentioned earlier 00:05:15.910 --> 00:05:18.490 that this land is scientifically irreplaceable. 00:05:18.870 --> 00:05:20.970 So let's get our boots dirty. Let's get into 00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:24.449 the mud. What exactly is the cork hell? The cork 00:05:24.449 --> 00:05:27.290 hell, yes. This is why we are here. The word 00:05:27.290 --> 00:05:30.350 translates to cork forest. Now see, when I hear 00:05:30.350 --> 00:05:33.529 cork, I immediately think of wine bottles. Sure. 00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:35.670 Most people do. I think of Portugal and those 00:05:35.670 --> 00:05:37.790 oak trees where they gently peel the bark off 00:05:37.790 --> 00:05:40.110 the trunk. Right. And that is the most common 00:05:40.110 --> 00:05:42.910 association. But the cork forest we are talking 00:05:42.910 --> 00:05:45.750 about here is completely different. We are not 00:05:45.750 --> 00:05:47.730 talking about the cork oak, which is cork -a 00:05:47.730 --> 00:05:49.930 -super. We are talking about a totally different 00:05:49.930 --> 00:05:53.170 tree called Pterocarpus officinalis. Pterocarpus 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:55.490 officinalis. That sounds almost medical. Well, 00:05:55.569 --> 00:05:57.930 the officinalis part often implies a medicinal 00:05:57.930 --> 00:06:00.589 history in botany. But the common name you'll 00:06:00.589 --> 00:06:02.649 usually hear for it in English is the dragon's 00:06:02.649 --> 00:06:05.949 blood tree or bloodwood. Bloodwood. OK, that 00:06:05.949 --> 00:06:08.529 is way more metal than cork. Why on earth do 00:06:08.529 --> 00:06:10.350 they call it bloodwood? Because if you cut the 00:06:10.350 --> 00:06:12.889 buck, it actually bleeds. It bleeds. Yeah, it 00:06:12.889 --> 00:06:16.250 exudes this thick, really dark red resin. It 00:06:16.250 --> 00:06:18.370 looks incredibly visceral, like the tree is actually 00:06:18.370 --> 00:06:21.990 bleeding. That is such a vivid and slightly terrifying 00:06:21.990 --> 00:06:24.430 image. So we have this bleeding tree in the swamp. 00:06:25.129 --> 00:06:28.149 But the sources highlight that the actual arrangement 00:06:28.149 --> 00:06:31.350 of these trees is the real mystery here. They 00:06:31.350 --> 00:06:34.129 keep referring to them as pure forests. And this 00:06:34.129 --> 00:06:36.850 is the real aha moment for any ecologist listening 00:06:36.850 --> 00:06:40.350 because In the tropics, especially in rainforests 00:06:40.350 --> 00:06:43.949 or these complex wetlands, monoculture is almost 00:06:43.949 --> 00:06:46.230 a dirty word. Because everything is usually so 00:06:46.230 --> 00:06:48.290 mixed together. Exactly. Usually you have this 00:06:48.290 --> 00:06:51.230 incredible diversity. You might find 10 completely 00:06:51.230 --> 00:06:53.629 different species of tree in just a 10 square 00:06:53.629 --> 00:06:56.750 meter plot. Nature in the tropics rarely does 00:06:56.750 --> 00:06:59.189 the exact same thing twice in a row. Right. Diversity 00:06:59.189 --> 00:07:01.810 is basically the defining hallmark of the tropics. 00:07:01.889 --> 00:07:04.550 But here, inside the El Mono Hernández sanctuary, 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:07.399 you have these massive homogenous stands. of 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:10.879 just tarocarpus officinalis. Nothing else. Miles 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:13.980 of bloodwood. About 401 hectares of them, to 00:07:13.980 --> 00:07:15.899 be exact. It's like walking into this massive 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:18.100 biological cathedral where every single pillar 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:20.759 is identical. Which is huge. I mean, 401 hectares 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:24.259 is roughly 400 football fields of just this one 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:25.939 type of tree. So how does that even happen in 00:07:25.939 --> 00:07:28.459 nature? Well, it is all about extreme adaptation. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:32.579 You have to remember, this area is a swamp. It's 00:07:32.579 --> 00:07:34.920 not quite the open sea, and it's not quite a 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:37.660 freshwater river. It is this harsh transition 00:07:37.660 --> 00:07:40.319 zone where freshwater from the inland rivers 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:43.220 collides with the salty influence of the Caribbean. 00:07:43.300 --> 00:07:46.019 So it's brackish. Highly brackish and fluctuating. 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:48.920 It is a really tough neighborhood for a tree. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:52.040 Most normal trees would either rot from being 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:54.420 submerged in the water, or they would just die 00:07:54.420 --> 00:07:56.959 from the salt content. So the terracarpus is 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:59.420 basically the special forces unit that can survive 00:07:59.420 --> 00:08:02.040 those specific conditions. Exactly. They have 00:08:02.040 --> 00:08:05.500 evolved these massive winding buttress roots. 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:07.959 Think of them almost like the stabilizing fins 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:10.899 on a rocket. OK. They spread way out to stabilize 00:08:10.899 --> 00:08:13.680 the heavy tree and the soft shifting mud. And 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:15.939 they have just evolved to perfectly handle this 00:08:15.939 --> 00:08:18.379 specific hydro period. So they naturally crowd 00:08:18.379 --> 00:08:20.540 out all the competition because frankly nothing 00:08:20.540 --> 00:08:22.899 else can handle the stress of that specific environment 00:08:22.899 --> 00:08:25.000 quite like they can. And the source material 00:08:24.939 --> 00:08:27.560 says this is the absolutely only place in the 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:29.939 entire Colombian Caribbean where you find these 00:08:29.939 --> 00:08:33.240 pure stands. The only one left. There definitely 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:36.000 used to be more of them historically, but through 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:38.580 deforestation and agricultural expansion, they 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:40.940 have basically been wiped out. Wow. Which is 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:43.419 exactly why this got that natural monument status. 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.460 It is the last remaining stronghold of the pure 00:08:46.460 --> 00:08:50.080 bloodwood cork forest. That image is just incredible 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:52.879 to picture. Floating through a dark swamp surrounded 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:55.919 by these bleeding trees with massive rocket fin 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:59.259 roots. It feels prehistoric. It really does. 00:08:59.340 --> 00:09:01.600 But we can't fully talk about the swamp without 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:03.480 talking about the other half of the vegetation 00:09:03.480 --> 00:09:06.480 because despite the fame of the cork, the mangroves 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:08.759 are actually a massive part of this. The mangroves 00:09:08.759 --> 00:09:11.120 are really the unsung heroes here. They actually 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:13.860 cover about half of the total area of the sanctuary, 00:09:14.139 --> 00:09:16.419 mostly in the western and northern parts. I feel 00:09:16.419 --> 00:09:18.899 like mangroves generally get a bad rap. People 00:09:18.899 --> 00:09:21.299 just think of them as these smelly, buggy, impenetrable 00:09:21.299 --> 00:09:24.700 thickets. Yeah. But the notes here list four 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:27.580 very specific types found in the sanctuary. We've 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:30.159 got red, black, white, and buttonwood. Is there 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.139 a specific reason for that variety, or is it 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:34.899 just random seeds floating around? Oh, it is 00:09:34.899 --> 00:09:37.860 definitely not random. It is highly, highly organized. 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:39.740 You should think of it almost like a well -planned 00:09:39.740 --> 00:09:43.440 city. The mangroves strictly respect these natural 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.080 zoning laws based entirely on the water depth 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:48.399 and the salinity. OK, walk me through these zones. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:52.409 Who gets the prime waterfront property? The red 00:09:52.409 --> 00:09:54.870 mangrove is your absolute front line. That's 00:09:54.870 --> 00:09:57.429 rhizophorum angle. Are those ones with the crazy 00:09:57.429 --> 00:09:59.710 roots above the water? Yes, the ones you see 00:09:59.710 --> 00:10:02.129 on postcards with those big arching prop roots 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:04.389 that look like giant spider legs dropping straight 00:10:04.389 --> 00:10:06.970 down into the water. Right. They live right there 00:10:06.970 --> 00:10:09.509 in the active tidal zone. They physically break 00:10:09.509 --> 00:10:12.350 the incoming waves and their roots trap the sediment 00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:15.250 floating in the water. They are literally building 00:10:15.250 --> 00:10:18.289 new land out into the ocean. Okay, so the red 00:10:18.289 --> 00:10:21.389 mangroves are the infantry building the beachhead. 00:10:21.629 --> 00:10:23.730 Who is sitting right behind them? Behind them, 00:10:23.889 --> 00:10:26.250 usually on slightly more stable ground but still 00:10:26.250 --> 00:10:29.070 very wet, you have the black mangrove, Abbot 00:10:29.070 --> 00:10:31.350 Scenia Germanens, and these guys are amazing 00:10:31.350 --> 00:10:33.330 because they have what we call pneumatophores. 00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:36.389 Pneumatophores. That is a fantastic scrabble 00:10:36.389 --> 00:10:39.379 word. It is. It essentially translates to breathing 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:42.299 roots. Because the mud they live in is so thick 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:45.259 and completely lacks oxygen, the black mangrove 00:10:45.259 --> 00:10:48.000 has to send up these little snorkel roots. Snorkel 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:49.960 roots? Yeah, they stick straight up out of the 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:52.059 mud looking exactly like thousands of little 00:10:52.059 --> 00:10:55.259 pencils sticking up. They literally snorkel for 00:10:55.259 --> 00:10:58.299 air above the suffocating mud. That is wild. 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:00.539 It's like the tree is holding its breath underwater 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:03.320 and sticking a straw up to the surface. Precisely. 00:11:03.500 --> 00:11:05.820 And then as you move further back into slightly 00:11:05.820 --> 00:11:08.460 drier, slightly less salty territory, you get 00:11:08.460 --> 00:11:11.500 the white mangrove and the buttonwood. They prefer 00:11:11.500 --> 00:11:13.740 to have drier feet, so to speak. That makes perfect 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:16.220 sense. But the larger point here is that this 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:19.100 specific diversity, having all four types working 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:21.879 together, tells us that the ecosystem is incredibly 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:25.049 robust. Under the administration of CNAP, the 00:11:25.049 --> 00:11:28.070 National Park System, they are protecting a system 00:11:28.070 --> 00:11:30.529 that filters the river water before it hits the 00:11:30.529 --> 00:11:33.529 ocean. It tracks massive amounts of carbon. It 00:11:33.529 --> 00:11:35.730 protects the coastline from storm surges. So 00:11:35.730 --> 00:11:37.990 it is essentially a giant biological sponge. 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:41.169 A sponge and a highly active nursery. Which brings 00:11:41.169 --> 00:11:43.570 us perfectly to the actual residence of the sanctuary, 00:11:43.750 --> 00:11:45.370 because you can't have a house this big and this 00:11:45.370 --> 00:11:48.169 complex without tenants moving in. And looking 00:11:48.169 --> 00:11:50.730 at the notes, the tenant list here is genuinely 00:11:50.730 --> 00:11:53.909 impressive. We've got 153 different species of 00:11:53.909 --> 00:11:56.830 birds. 153, yes. I mean, I have a pretty nice 00:11:56.830 --> 00:11:58.690 bird feeder in my backyard and I get maybe three 00:11:58.690 --> 00:12:01.129 types of sparrows and one very aggressive squirrel. 00:12:02.230 --> 00:12:05.429 Why is this specific 38 square kilometer patch 00:12:05.429 --> 00:12:08.809 of swamp attracting 153 different bird species? 00:12:08.909 --> 00:12:11.509 It boils down to one simple thing, calories. 00:12:11.870 --> 00:12:14.240 So it's just a giant buffet. It is an all -you 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:16.580 -can -eat buffet that never ever closes. The 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:18.620 sheer combination of the mangroves constantly 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:20.980 dropping leaves the warm swamp water breaking 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:23.480 those leaves down rapidly. And that constant 00:12:23.480 --> 00:12:26.179 mixing of fresh and salt water creates an absolute 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:28.799 explosion of plankton algae and small crustaceans. 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:31.080 The water is basically soup at that point. It 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:33.460 is a nutrient -dense soup. So the small fish 00:12:33.460 --> 00:12:35.720 eat the soup. The bigger fish eat the small fish. 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:40.000 And the birds, the herons, the egrets, the kingfishers... 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:42.059 They capitalize on all of that. Whether they 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:44.799 are wading in the shallows or diving down from 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:47.860 the canopy, the food density here is just off 00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:50.580 the charts. But it's not just birds, right? There's 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:53.500 a specific mammal here that I think captures 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:55.539 the imagination more than anything else we've 00:12:55.539 --> 00:12:58.279 talked about, the West Indian manatee. Ah, yes, 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.519 the gentle giant of the swamp. See, I always 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:02.700 associate manatees with Florida, you know, hanging 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:04.860 out with power plants in the winter. I didn't 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:07.399 realize they were such a key feature of these 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:10.580 deep Colombian swamps. They are completely critical 00:13:10.580 --> 00:13:13.240 to the ecosystem and unfortunately they are highly 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:15.740 endangered. The overall population in the Caribbean 00:13:15.740 --> 00:13:18.740 is severely fragmented so finding a pristine 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:21.159 sanctuary like El Mono Hernandez where they are 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:23.519 actively protected is vital for their survival. 00:13:23.700 --> 00:13:25.519 But why are they here specifically? Is it also 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:27.559 because of the soup? For them it's the salad. 00:13:27.870 --> 00:13:30.970 Manatees are strict herbivores. They are basically 00:13:30.970 --> 00:13:34.129 aquatic cows. They need massive, massive amounts 00:13:34.129 --> 00:13:36.830 of aquatic plants, floating grasses, water hyacinths, 00:13:37.009 --> 00:13:39.309 just to sustain their sheer bulk. And the swamp 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:41.710 just naturally provides the lawn for them to 00:13:41.710 --> 00:13:44.590 mow. Exactly. The complex marshes within the 00:13:44.590 --> 00:13:47.789 sanctuary provide perfect grazing grounds. But 00:13:47.789 --> 00:13:51.669 here is the fascinating part. It's a deeply symbiotic 00:13:51.669 --> 00:13:54.769 relationship. Oh, so. By constantly grazing the 00:13:54.769 --> 00:13:57.850 manatees, actively keep the waterways open. They 00:13:57.850 --> 00:14:00.049 physically prevent the fast growing vegetation 00:14:00.049 --> 00:14:03.029 from choking out the flow of water. If you lose 00:14:03.029 --> 00:14:05.690 the manatee population, the actual architecture 00:14:05.690 --> 00:14:08.289 of the swamp changes. The channels would clog 00:14:08.289 --> 00:14:10.450 right up. Oh, wow. So they aren't just living 00:14:10.450 --> 00:14:12.429 there. They are the gardeners. They are the heavy 00:14:12.429 --> 00:14:14.429 machinery of the swamp's maintenance crew. I 00:14:14.429 --> 00:14:17.210 love that. Yeah. But if the manatee is the gentle 00:14:17.210 --> 00:14:19.889 gardener, there is another resident we need to 00:14:19.889 --> 00:14:21.649 talk about that is significantly less gentle. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.919 The Jaguar. The undisputed king of the sanctuary? 00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:27.940 This detail really blew my mind because I know 00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:30.759 Jaguars are flexible predators. I know their 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:32.779 range extends from Mexico all the way down to 00:14:32.779 --> 00:14:35.960 Argentina, but I always picture them in dry deciduous 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:39.659 forests or deep dense canopy jungles. I do not 00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:41.960 picture a massive cat swimming through a dense 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:45.019 mangrove swamp. That is actually a very common 00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:48.220 misconception about big cats, specifically jaguars. 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:50.740 They absolutely love the water. They're incredibly 00:14:50.740 --> 00:14:53.679 powerful swimmers, and they will actively hunt 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:56.000 in the water. Wait, they hunt in the swamp water? 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:57.820 What are they hunting? Oh, absolutely. They hunt 00:14:57.820 --> 00:15:00.440 caiman. They hunt crocodiles. Well, caimans. 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:03.659 Yes. The jaguar actually has the strongest bite 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:06.299 force of all the big cats relative to its size. 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:09.340 They can effortlessly crack a turtle shell or 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:12.000 bite straight through a caiman skull. That completely 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:14.360 reframes this entire ecosystem for me. Sure. 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:16.360 So you have the manatee grazing peacefully in 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:18.740 the channels, and then right nearby you have 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:21.240 the jaguar patrolling the water's edge, fully 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:23.320 capable of diving in to take down an armored 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:26.419 reptile. It really just shows you how rich the 00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:29.679 available energy is in the system. An apex predator, 00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:32.720 like a jaguar, requires a ton of fuel to survive. 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:35.779 It can't just live on a few bugs and frogs. If 00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:38.220 a jaguar population is living there, it guarantees 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:41.279 that the underlying population of prey, the capybaras, 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:43.799 the caimans, the smaller mammals, is incredibly 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:46.940 healthy. The jaguar is the ultimate biological 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:49.539 indicator of a thriving ecosystem. And speaking 00:15:49.539 --> 00:15:52.080 of those caimans, the brown caiman is specifically 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:55.929 listed here. as a key reptile resident. Cayman 00:15:55.929 --> 00:15:59.070 crocodillus fuscus, yes. They are the sub -aquatic 00:15:59.070 --> 00:16:01.429 rulers of the sanctuary. Between them and the 00:16:01.429 --> 00:16:03.549 jaguars, the water is definitely a swim -at -your 00:16:03.549 --> 00:16:05.830 -own -risk zone. I will leave my swimsuit at 00:16:05.830 --> 00:16:08.370 home. And just to close the loop on the wildlife, 00:16:08.590 --> 00:16:10.710 we have to mention the howler monkey. We definitely 00:16:10.710 --> 00:16:13.649 do. Because the park is named El Mono after a 00:16:13.649 --> 00:16:16.740 man. But the actual monos, the howler monkeys, 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:19.440 are physically right there up in the trees screaming 00:16:19.440 --> 00:16:21.940 their heads off. It is a beautiful poetic coincidence. 00:16:22.179 --> 00:16:24.279 And if you have never heard a wild howler monkey 00:16:24.279 --> 00:16:27.220 vocalizes there, it is a genuinely terrifying 00:16:27.220 --> 00:16:29.179 sound. How would you describe it for someone 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:31.100 who hasn't heard it? Well, it doesn't sound anything 00:16:31.100 --> 00:16:33.419 like a typical monkey. It sounds more like a 00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:37.000 wind tunnel or a roaring predator. It is this 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.600 deep, guttural, resonant roar that can literally 00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:43.500 travel for miles through the dense forest. So 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:46.740 just imagine the absolute sensory overload of 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:49.440 being there. You are sitting in a canoe. It's 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:52.000 incredibly hot. The water around you is dark 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.200 and full of caimans. You have this red sap literally 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:57.700 bleeding from the massive tree roots. And then 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:00.620 overhead, you hear this demonic roaring echoing 00:17:00.620 --> 00:17:02.759 through the canopy. It is atmospheric, to say 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:05.240 the very least. Which is a perfect pivot. Let's 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:06.940 talk about that atmosphere because we can describe 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:08.599 the animals and the trees all day But I want 00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:11.099 the listener to really feel what it's like to 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:13.720 stand there What is the physical climate doing 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:16.539 to us while we are in the sanctuary? Well first 00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:18.960 and foremost you are going to be sweating profusely 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:21.420 the notes say the average temperature is 28 degrees 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:24.380 Celsius So that's what about 82 Fahrenheit. Yes, 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:26.839 but remember that is the average that includes 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:29.619 the dead of night During the day with the direct 00:17:29.619 --> 00:17:33.660 Sun and the humidity the actual feels like temperature 00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:36.779 is going to be significantly higher. And because 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:40.220 it's a coastal swamp, the humidity is frequently 00:17:40.220 --> 00:17:42.779 hovering right near 100%. So it's like walking 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:45.799 through soup. Exactly. The air feels physically 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:47.880 thick. You breathe it in, and it just feels heavy 00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:50.480 in your lungs. And what about the rainfall? because 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.599 swamps obviously need water. They get about 1 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:56.700 ,100 millimeters of precipitation annually, but 00:17:56.700 --> 00:17:59.279 it isn't evenly spread out. It is very rhythmic. 00:17:59.579 --> 00:18:01.960 And this is crucial to understand because the 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:04.259 swamp essentially breathes with the seasons. 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:06.680 So when do we need to bring the heavy duty umbrella? 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:09.700 April and November, those are your absolute peak 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.359 wet months. The skies just open up with these 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:15.099 torrential tropical downpours. The water levels 00:18:15.099 --> 00:18:17.680 rise drastically, the salinity drops because 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:20.200 of all the fresh river water rushing in, and 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:22.380 the fish populations move much further inland 00:18:22.380 --> 00:18:24.920 into the flooded forests. OK, and the warmest 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:27.420 months? June and July are typically the hottest, 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:30.400 but the real shift is the dry season. When is 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:32.880 that? That runs from December straight through 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.940 April. During this time, the water actively recedes. 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:38.920 The exposed mud dries out and starts to crack 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:41.240 in the heat. And obviously, the salt concentration 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:44.559 in the remaining water shoots up. Wow. This constant 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:47.660 oscillation, wet to dry, fresh to salty, that 00:18:47.660 --> 00:18:50.200 is the actual engine that drives the whole sanctuary. 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:53.700 The plants and the animals are all deeply adapted 00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:57.220 to this specific pulse. It sounds honestly exhausting 00:18:57.220 --> 00:18:59.140 just trying to survive there. It is an extreme 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:01.750 environment. But that is exactly why it is so 00:19:01.750 --> 00:19:04.210 special. It naturally filters out the week. Only 00:19:04.210 --> 00:19:06.690 the highly specialized can survive here long 00:19:06.690 --> 00:19:08.769 term. So bringing this all back together, we 00:19:08.769 --> 00:19:12.630 have this 38 .5 square kilometer patch of land 00:19:12.630 --> 00:19:14.910 spanning Sucre and Boulevard. It's a natural 00:19:14.910 --> 00:19:17.869 monument. It is a literal memorial to Elmono 00:19:17.869 --> 00:19:20.569 Hernandez. It holds the only pure bloodwood cork 00:19:20.569 --> 00:19:22.809 forest left. But why does all this matter to 00:19:22.809 --> 00:19:24.470 you, the listener who might just be driving to 00:19:24.470 --> 00:19:26.450 work or doing the dishes right now? I think it 00:19:26.450 --> 00:19:29.069 really matters on two distinct levels. First 00:19:29.069 --> 00:19:32.490 is the strictly practical level. This specific 00:19:32.490 --> 00:19:35.670 swamp acts as a giant kidney for the entire region. 00:19:36.130 --> 00:19:38.309 It filters the water flowing out to the sea. 00:19:38.750 --> 00:19:40.990 It physically holds the coastline together against 00:19:40.990 --> 00:19:44.089 storms. It actively sequesters immense amounts 00:19:44.089 --> 00:19:46.890 of carbon down in that deep peat -like mud. So 00:19:46.890 --> 00:19:49.450 it's protecting us globally. Right. If you destroy 00:19:49.450 --> 00:19:52.369 this, you degrade the entire surrounding coastline. 00:19:52.710 --> 00:19:54.869 The local fisheries would collapse. The coastal 00:19:54.869 --> 00:19:57.490 erosion would speed up. It is vital functional 00:19:57.490 --> 00:19:59.250 infrastructure for the planet. And what's the 00:19:59.250 --> 00:20:02.150 second level? The second level is about our concept 00:20:02.150 --> 00:20:04.869 of heritage. We are so used to thinking of heritage 00:20:04.869 --> 00:20:07.490 solely as old buildings or ancient cathedrals 00:20:07.490 --> 00:20:10.809 or marble statues, but a pure stand of tarot 00:20:10.809 --> 00:20:13.109 -carpist trees that has managed to exist in balance 00:20:13.109 --> 00:20:16.420 for thousands of years. That is heritage. It's 00:20:16.420 --> 00:20:19.119 essentially a living biological library. Exactly. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:20.900 And once you burn down a library, you can't just 00:20:20.900 --> 00:20:22.740 go out and buy the books back. They are gone 00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:25.660 forever. This sanctuary preserves a genetic lineage 00:20:25.660 --> 00:20:28.140 that is utterly unique to the Colombian Caribbean. 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:30.119 And that beautifully connects right back to the 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:33.220 man it's named after. Yeah. Jorge Ignacio Hernandez 00:20:33.220 --> 00:20:35.619 Camacho didn't just look out and see a muddy 00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:40.079 swamp. He saw that exact library. He recognized 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:43.039 the profound value of the books inside it. before 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:45.740 anyone else did. And because of him, he ensured 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.339 that we can still read those books today. I think 00:20:48.339 --> 00:20:51.380 that is the real power of individuals in conservation. 00:20:51.940 --> 00:20:53.960 We tend to think of saving the planet as this 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:56.900 vague, massive global effort, but so often it 00:20:56.900 --> 00:20:59.000 actually comes down to just one passionate person 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.680 looking at one specific patch of land and saying, 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:04.990 no, this stays, this is important. It really 00:21:04.990 --> 00:21:07.309 does make you completely rethink the maps we 00:21:07.309 --> 00:21:09.829 use every day. We just see borders and roads 00:21:09.829 --> 00:21:12.509 and city names. But behind every single one of 00:21:12.509 --> 00:21:14.410 those lines, there are intense stories. Every 00:21:14.410 --> 00:21:16.809 protected area on a map is a victory story. Someone 00:21:16.809 --> 00:21:19.369 had to fight for it to be there. So here is a 00:21:19.369 --> 00:21:21.390 final provocative thought to leave you with today. 00:21:21.630 --> 00:21:23.730 If you had to designate a natural monument in 00:21:23.730 --> 00:21:26.549 your own life, a place that isn't necessarily 00:21:26.549 --> 00:21:29.670 famous or grand, but is totally vital to the 00:21:29.670 --> 00:21:32.089 ecosystem of your personal world, what would 00:21:32.089 --> 00:21:34.829 it be? And who would be the El Mono in your life 00:21:34.829 --> 00:21:37.269 that fought to protect it? That is a genuinely 00:21:37.269 --> 00:21:39.650 great question to think about. It's definitely 00:21:39.650 --> 00:21:42.670 worth a ponder. But we are going to wrap it up 00:21:42.670 --> 00:21:45.109 right there. Thank you for putting on your rubber 00:21:45.109 --> 00:21:47.410 boots and trekking through the deep mud with 00:21:47.410 --> 00:21:49.730 us today. It was a pleasure. Stay dry out there. 00:21:49.890 --> 00:21:52.589 We will see you on the next deep dive. Stay curious.