Simbiotica Adventures

22/09/2024

Milestone: Last year in May I led my first Rainforest After Dark night tour. Last night I gave my 100th night tour!

In that time I have had the opportunity to see with my clients some of the incredible wildlife Costa Rica has to offer: mammals such as sloths (both tree- and two-toed), kinkajous, collared peccaries, Mexican hairy dwarf porcupines, nine-banded armadillos, pacas, tamanduas, and an Ocelot!

We’ve seen beautiful frogs such as red-eyed tree frogs, glass frogs (with see-through organs), and granulated poison dart frogs.

There have been reptiles such as spectacled caimans, basilisks, and many different species of snakes.

Some bird sightings have included common potoos, tropical screech owls, spectacled owls, boat-billed herons, and sleeping yellow-throated toucans.

And there are the insects: scorpions, tailless whip scorpions, tarantulas, stick insects, and headlight elators (with their glowing false “eyes”).

Of course there are many more wonderful animals missing from the list. Every night is exciting because we don’t know what creatures are going to show up :). I’m excited to continue showing others the magic of the rainforest at night for 100 more tours and beyond!

03/08/2024

The kinkajou is a nocturnal mammal that looks like a cross between a cat and a monkey. However they are more closely related to a raccoon. We see them frequently of the Rainforest After Dark Experience, although they usually don’t stay still long enough for a photo.

La martilla (kinkajoú) es un mamífero nocturno que parece un cruce de un gato y un mono, pero son más similares de los mapaches. Veamos con frecuencia durante el Rainforest After Dark Experience, aunque usualmente no están inmóviles por tiempo suficiente para sacar una foto.

03/04/2024

Last night we saw a large Turnip-tailed Gecko on a ceiba tree. It was larger than my hand, but when I put my hand near it so I could provide proportion, it ran away.

Anoche vimos un gran geco cola de nabo en una ceiba. Fue más grande de mi mano pero cuando la puse al lado del animal, se fue.

08/03/2024

On a very active night walk last night, we saw 7 sloths, including mamas and babies of both the Three- and Two-toed species. We also saw many kinkajous, peccaries, a Mouse Opossum, and a Jamaican Fruit Bat eating a fruit.

Anoche los animales en el recorrido nocturno estuvieron muy activos. Vimos 7 perezosos, incluyendo una mamá y un bebé de ambos especies de dos y tres dedos. También vimos muchas martillas (kinkajous), sainos, una zarigüeya ratón, y un murciélago frugívoro de Jamaica comiendo una fruta.

04/03/2024

29/01/2024

Article I wrote for The Tico Times about how the protests in Panama from last year suggest that a historically business-friendly country is ready to invest in sustainable industries, such as ecotourism.

As Panama rejects a mining project, the country explores pivoting its economy towards more sustainable industries like ecotourism with Costa Rica providing an exemplary model.

28/01/2024

While leading a night tour last week, I saw a Neotropical Blunt-headed Tree snake, a species I had never seen before. A couple nights later, one of my clients spotted another one. They feed on lizards, frogs, and other reptile eggs. With this long, skinny bodies and bulbous heads, with disproportionally large eyes, their appearance is almost cartoonish.

Durante un tour la semana pasada, vi por primera vez una serpiente llamada dormilona. Un par de días después, un cliente mío vio otra. Se alimentan de lagartijas, ranas, y huevos de otros reptiles. Con un cuerpo largo y delgado y una cabeza y ojos grandes y desproporcionados, parecen dibujos animados.

14/12/2023

Look closely and you’ll see two well-camouflaged Rain Frogs mating (the male is significantly smaller than the female). When they lay eggs, unlike other frog species, the Rain Frog skips the tadpole phase and hatches as a fully-developed froglet.

The photo of the mating frogs was taken during a night tour I led last night at Hacienda Barú. The photo of the froglets is from the book “Nature of the Rainforest: Costa Rica and Beyond” by Adrian Forsyth.

Es difícil verlo con su camuflaje, pero en la foto hay dos ranas de lluvia apareándose (el macho es mucho más pequeño que la hembra). Cuando pone sus huevos, a diferencia de otras especias de ranas, la rana de lluvia se salta la etapa de renacuajo y nace como una ranita completa.

La foto de la apareamiento de las ranas fue sacado en un tour nocturno que dirijí anoche en Hacienda Barú. La foto de las ranitas es del libro “Nature of the Rainforest: Costa Rica and Beyond” de Adrian Forsyth.