December 10 - Playa Cativo 🇨🇷

Today we met up with the Chief Biologist at Playa Cativo Lodge, Alejandra, for our jungle hike. She is a graduate of the University of Costa Rica in San José and is conducting research work in the area on how to propagate mangrove trees in salty, brackish water as a way to preserve the mangroves on the Pacific coast which are slowly disappearing due to the rise in the level of the oceans associated with climate change. She’s one smart lady! We hiked the hills of the Piedras Blancas National Park in search of indigenous flora & fauna and hoping to see a Puma, Jaguar, or Ocelot. We came up blank on a big cat sighting but found Toucans, Scarlet Macaws, Agouti and Collared Peccary. We also came across Wild Turkeys and we witnessed Leaf Cutter ants hard at work from a massive colony that measured 15 square meters. We saw tens of species of multi-coloured birds, and the largest birds of paradise plants I’ve ever seen. From the mangrove we walked to the black sand beach then along the shoreline where Alejandra told us the animal cams have sighted the Puma and Ocelots in the night. These cats are nocturnal and hunt in the dark. Guess we won’t be going back to the black sand beach tonight!!

The beach at Playa Cativo Lodge, a study in biodiversity!

Toucan high up in the tree at Playa Cativo Lodge

Scarlet Macaw once almost extinct are now resident in the national park in record numbers

Agouti in the rainforest of Piedras Blancas National Park

Collared Peccary is also known as Javelina or musk hog and loves to eat coconut meat

Leaf cutter ants hard at work carrying food to their colony

Enjoying a refreshing drink of coconut water at the organic farm of Playa Cativo Lodge

Wild turkey of Costa Rica. The females are brown with white spotted tail feathers