Dendropsophus phlebodes, the San Carlos treefrog or San Carlos dwarf treefrog, It is an "explosive breeder", the main reproductive period starting with the arrival of the rainy season.This male had made its way by bus from Panama in advance of the rains next month
Much like my post on all things Bug, I'm not planning to educate, just pop up a few photos to record our trip. If you are a scientist in need of frog licking detail I would recommend National Geographic. Or getting a life? We saw Spider Monkeys, Capuchin monkeys, and Howler monkeys, they eat ripe fruit and live in the woods. Enough said.
The Corcovado National Park is secondary and primary rainforest with the greatest density of biodiversity on the planet, anyway it's pretty remote and truly amazing. We did two trips into Sirena and San Pedrillo rangers stations.
The Traveller Human smells pretty unpleasant when first collected from their natural habitat, but can scrub up ok when taken out of the wild!
Scarlet Macaws can live to be over 60 years old and mate for life; unlike that tart the tree Turkey - see below- they are native to tropical forests from Mexico to South America. In Costa Rica, an estimated 1,500 Scarlet Macaws live in dry, moist, and wet tropical lowland forests along the Pacific Coast. The make quite an unpleasant screeching noise which happens in married human couples too.
the tree Turkey male displays a yellow erection on its actual face to attract a mate .... knob face Turkey or Brian as this one preferred to be known
Howler! Howling ! This is a lady with baby but Males have a very distinctive white scrotum which enables easy identification of the species!
Coati : here's something clever, The White Nosed Coati, also known as Coatimundi or the local term, Pizote, is very well-known in Costa Rica. Coatis are exotic animals that inhabit forested areas in Central America. They are found through most of Costa Rica, especially near the coast. You will mostly see them in the rainforest, dry forest, or cloud forest. Coatis are common in the wetlands of the country, too. We saw Coatis climbing trees and walking in groups along the paths. We came upon large groups ranging from 10-30 of Coatis! They are pretty friendly. Usually, you won’t find many adult males in these groups as they are put out at the age of two. Absolute gem!
Tapir, wallowing : Baird's Tapirs, or Tapirus Bairdii, are large, herbivorous mammals whose prehensile snout and pointed ears lead them to resemble a unique mix between a pig and a pack mule. Despite this appearance, the Tapirs are more closely related to odd-toed ungulates like horses and rhinoceroses. This one wasn't too bothered about it's taxinomy and was happy to demonstrate the unique split round eared variety, in this case preferring a warm mud bath to detail......
Butterfly, butterflying: the Green bodied tiger is one of Costa Rica's rarest Lepidoptera measuring up to 3 meters and with a deafening roar.
The Tucan is amazing. Collared Aracari in Drake Bay Costa Rica its diet is mainly fruit, but also it loves a guiness
The southern tamandua or Lesser Anteater is quite clumsy on the ground and ambles along, incapable of the gallop its relative, the giant anteater, can achieve. This one was very wise. The estrous cycle will last approximately about 42 days. Gestation ranges from 130 to 190 days. The female gives birth to one offspring. Females are polyestrous; which means they can be quite moody as I understand my biology. Mating generally takes place in the autumn on a 4 poster bed. At birth, the young anteater does not resemble its parents; its coat varies from white to black. It rides on the mother's back for several months up to a year and is sometimes deposited on a safe branch while the mother forages. Really! I kid you not!
It's a blog. We were given greater detail by our guides, but the point is, this is one of the best places in the world for seeing wildlife. Go!!!!
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