Costa Rica Part II: Monkey Business

I'll describe my stay Curu, Costa Rica on the Pacific Coast.

The number of lizards here is impressive, both in species and total numbers I saw a lot of them. This is the place with the most monkeys I saw anywhere. Curu has three of the four monkey species found in the country; I saw spider, white faced capuchin, and congos. The congos were the easiest to find as they would howl at the farm equipment from trees along the road into the reserve. There were also a couple of congos who would approach the main house for food. White Faced Capuchins visited our cabin a couple of times, and a troop of them could usually be seen in the treetops on their way to or around the main house early in the morning. Other interesting finds were scarlet macaws flying overhead (heard others in the jungle), good snorkeling tours depart daily (schooling fish, eels, lobster, puffers), coati & deer (found while horseback riding), and lots of bats. Bats can be found hiding in the gift shop and at night they are quite numerous. There is one semi-tame spider monkey that lives in the attic above the eatery.

As far as the lodging itself, the cabins are very private. There is a good deal of trees/vegetation between each cabin, so everyone has their own little space and beach. The cabins have electricity and running water/toliots. The conditions are quite basic, nothing fancy, but beds with matresses are included. A mosquitto net is recommended for the really uptight, but the cabins are *mostly* insect free ie. you won't be eaten up by mosquittos but you will see a giant insect or two. The food was really excellent, some of the best food of the trip really, no complaints there. There are a lot of trails to hike, and they do not close at a certain time if you are sleeping over. If you visit as a daily guest only, the hours of arrival must be followed as the front gate is locked and you won't be able to get in. I've attached some photos for fun.

Lending a Helping Hand

Lots of folks like to do a little something to help wild life. Here are some ideas I've gathered that are realistic things just about anyone can do to help.

• Visit a bird sanctuary or wildlife rehab center. Even a donation of a few bucks or sponsoring a single animal will make a difference. They often need supplies as well, so you may have things around your house that are useful as gifts. Sponsoring an animal often gets one special privleges, such as a backstage pass, as well.
• Create a butterfly garden. This doesn't take much space or water and requires no pesticides, as many plants suitable for butterflies are also well adapted to your local conditions. In addition to books, conservation departments and community colleges have one day courses on creating butterfly gardens.
• If there is a nearby park with a lake, I'd be willing to bet in the summer evenings you will see bats there. Ask the local parks director if you can sponsor a bat house for the property. On public land, I think it's best to locate the bat house where people won't look up into it and disturb the bats or rope off a small area around the bat house. One could also put up nest boxes instead of bat houses. In the east where there is a few acres of prairie, grass, or other open land, purple martin houses might be erected. The martin houses are not cheap for a quality one, but they will last a long time. The design should be custom made for the martins in a way that helps exclude sparrows. I've also seen the hanging gords with martins in them.
• Some people suggest that feeding animals, such as with bird feeders, is helpful. I am no expert, but I have to say I am not convinced that this is the case. I've seen more than a few hawks that have learned to wait for lunch at birdfeeders. Many birdfeeders are also placed in yards with cats/dogs. In many cases, I wonder if bird feeding is not simply luring birds into predator rich grounds. Teaching mammals to frequent human dwellings is not a good idea either. Many garages are laden with mice posions and dangerous chemicals. It is also been suggested than without the proper care, feeding stations might become a source of disease.
• Volunteer to improve habitat on public lands. Depending on your location invasive species may need removed, controlled burns may need to be conducted, or a park watch may be needed to reduce misuse of the park.

Locking up Stealth Cams

I've heard of stealth cams being stolen. I also have some concern that someone might pop out the memory card and batteries. To address these concerns, I decided to lock up my digital stealth cams. Stealth cam sells locks for 14.00, but I found I had all the supplies on hand I needed to create my own lock. I am using a bicycle chain lock around the tree trunk. I connect the chain to the stealth cam via a small padlock. This also prevents entry to the memory card and batteries. This setup new would cost around 8$ at a department store.

Blanchard's Cricket Frog

Cricket frog's are easy to find along pond shores. Notice the wartiness.

How Nocturnal?

I often find raccoon, such as this one, during the daylight hours in both in urban and rural areas. Apparently, some people believe this means such raccoons are ill (being active in the daytime). I've checked with several conservation employees and none have correlated daytime activity with ill health. Enjoy raccoons, in day and night... just don't forget to purchase quality garbage cans.

Look where you grab

Today, I found a speckled kingsnake hanging out in a tree cavity. Here are a couple of shots.

Leaping Lizards

Here is a beautiful male fence lizard I saw today.