Ecotourism - Post 4

These pictures were all taken during our stay at La Selva Biological Research Station:

Posionous Dart Frog

Wild Bors, one of them had two little babies and they were so cute. Our guide said that they couldn't have been born but 3 days before we arrived.

We found this snail on the path during our walk.

Howler Monkey - They make loud noises and at times you have to wonder if there are a couple of bears in the forest fighting over who gets to eat the dead animal they found. When we were in the Osa, I awoke one morning at 5:30am to the sound the the Howler Monkeys going crazy.

Frog in the stream on our morning walk. The guide was telling us about a certain kind of frog that only comes to La Selva for one night a year and then disappears. As of our visit, the frog hasn't arrived, and unfortunately this isn't it, but I just thought that the story was cool. This frog was actually in a part of the forest that is not allowed to be used for research though.

Our guide with a nest that a species of bird made. The bird is closely related to the Oriel. Since I knew that Matt and Rene would enjoy seeing a picture of a close relative to the Oriel, I spent about 5 minutes trying to get a picture of one. Below you will find my best attempt:

If you look at the highest bunch of leaves you will see a black object, thats the bird. When the picture is enlarged, you can see the bright yellow stomach of the bird.

Bullet Ant - This ant is huge, around an inch long, and it is very poisonous. Our guide said that it feels like 40 wasp stings, ouch!

These are mating centipedes.

La Selva Biological Research Station and Ecotourism: La Selva is located relatively close to the Caribbean border of Costa Rica. The area is considered a wet lowland and is thus one of the densest tropical rain forests in Costa Rica. The area averages 4 meters of rainfall each year; thats over 13 feet. The area contains over 5,000 species of animals and insects. In fact, some of the most poinsonous snakes are located within La Selva. La Selva is owned by the Organization for Tropical Studies, a collection of over fifty universities in the United States and Costa Rica. During our morning walk through La Selva, our guide explained to us that throughout the course of a year, the research station sees many students, faculty, and scientists from all over the world. Furthermore, they work closely with the surrounding communities by involving them directly in the research that is conducted. Additionally, the biologists that work at La Selva educate tourists and community members about new conservation techniques and deforstation issues surrounding the forest. La Selva also offers a course for becoming a guide to local community members. We only stay in La Selva for less than a day, but it was clear to see from our visit that this is the true definition of ecotourism. On both of our walks through the tropical rain forest, we passed numerous tourists that were completely engaged in understanding the rain forest better. After our visit to La Selva, I definitely felt better educated about the different types of tropical rain forests in Costa Rica. Furthermore, the amount of research that was taking place in the tropical rain forest was incredible. On our morning hike, we passed three biologists on their way to do their research deep within the forest. I was truely impressed with the amount of education that tourists receive at La Selva.