The Inagua National Park was established in 1965 on 183,740 acres. It is internationally renowned as home to the world's largest breeding colony of West Indian flamingos, which now numbers approximately 60,000 birds after having made a 40year journey back from the edge of extinction.
As early as 1905, concern for the West Indian Flamingo in the Caribbean was intense. The hunting of flamingos, coupled with disturbances of the birds habitat, led to a drastic decline in the population. With the creation of the Bahamas National Trust and the effective management of its habitat, the flamingo population continues to be vibrant and thriving. The success of the Inagua National Park is evident in the repopulating of other islands in The Bahamas - including Andros, Acklins & Crooked Island, and Mayaguana - as well as Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Grand Cayman.
The flamingo is not the only star in the Inagua National Park. The native Bahama Parrot, the endemic Bahama woodstar hummingbird, Bahama pintails, Brown pelicans, Tricolored herons, Snowy egrets, Reddish egrets, Stripeheaded tanangers, Cormorants, Roseate spoonbills, American kestrels, and Burrowing owls abound in the Park's interior. Wild Donkeys trot amongst the mangroves, freshwater terrapins inhabit the ponds, and natural bonsai forests grace its interior.
In 1997, the Inagua National Park was designated a Wetland of International Importance, as The Bahamas became a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. The Inagua National Park is a birders paradise, qualifying it as an Important Bird Area based on Birdlife International's criteria.