Butterfly Botanical Gardens is just one of many tours offered by Finas Natural Wildlife Refuge in Manual Antonio
Did you know that there are approximately 2000 species of butterflies in Costa Rica? Or that of all of the eggs laid, only about 2% complete metamorphosis to become butterflies? Did you know that some butterflies copulate for four hours at a time? Or that all butterflies lay their eggs at mid-day? How many of you know that the Blue Morpho’s brilliant color is not a pigment, but actually a reflection? Have you ever noticed the snake’s head on the Owl Butterfly’s wings? Well you’ll learn that, and much, much more at the Butterfly Botanical Gardens in Manuel Antonio.
The Butterfly Botanical Gardens is part of a 30-acre nature reserve and conservation project created through the efforts of the guides from Adventuras de la Naturaleza, and Jim Damalas of Ecovision S.A., General Manager of the Hotel Si Como No and is supported by Association Grupo Manuel Antonio (GMA).
Once arriving, the best thing to do is pay (about $15USD) for a one-hour tour with a guide who will give you a short historical overview of the Fincas Naturales Nature Farms, as well as the goals of the conservation project. Read more... (553 words, 1 image, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)
Costa Rica is nature’s theater where the crocodile is just one of many where one-day tourism loves its production of jagged, snaring teeth and prehistoric features. And crocodile attacks are considered one of the most gruesome. With that said, crocodiles annually attract thousands of tourists on the river Tárcoles where they come out of the bridges or board boats or display their shows as Costa Rica’s crocodile man does. Crocodile have also been the recent threat to drug smugglers. The Pacific coast from Puntarenas all the way to Esterillos is full of huge crocodiles during the mating season.
However, this prehistoric production may be threatened.
According to a scientific study released on August 8, 2010, Global warming has caused the birth of more males than females crocodiles in the rivers of Costa Rica, which could jeopardize the survival of the species in the next two decades.
“The assumption is that the birth of a greater number of males is related to the temperature higher still because of climate change and direct sunshine,” reports the newspaper La Nacion, which publishes some of this study by the Costa Rican biologist Juan Rafael Bolaños, a Crocodilian Biologist from the University of Costa Rica. Read more... (627 words, 2 images, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)
Refusing to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), the next endangered species may be Costa Rican Shrimp Fishermen
If there was a golden opportunity for Costa Rica to capitalize on a need of Gringo’s taste buds, and to help stimulate their economy it is now. But unfortunately, for a country that has been one of the heavy weights of ecology, they, have turned their backs on a major eco problem that if not corrected, will have sever consequences.
Back in May, 2005 the U.S. had banned Costa Rica Shrimp Industry from exporting the tasty creatures because it has become a threat to the endangered Sea Turtles. Costa Rica wild-harvested shrimpers refused to employ Turtle-Excluder devices (TEDs) in their nets. They have had the opportunity three times in the last five years to have this ban lifted. And with that said, now have another threat, their species itself.
TED is a specialized device that allows a captured sea turtle to escape when caught in a fisherman’s net. Proper use of TEDs reduces the number of turtles caught in shrimp nets by as much as 95% and is required to be used by any shrimp fishery that sells to the U. S and to other countries that support the protection of sea turtles. Read more... (494 words, 2 images, estimated 1:59 mins reading time)
President Chinchilla has another victory, the Appellate Court decision to keep the ban on the open pit gold mine in Cutris de San Carlos alive.
During Ms. Chinchilla presidential campaign, she had gone on record that she opposed any new open pit mines. This week it appears that she kept her promise by influencing the judges when the appeals courts declined to lift a ban on the open pit gold mine in Cutris de San Carlos.
The company, Industrias Infinito S.A., (Costa Rican subsidiary of a Canadian company), cannot keep developing the mine even though former president Óscar Arias Sánchez declared it to be in the national interest. Obviously, he was looking at the millions or billions of colones revenue ; a nice sum of money to be dumped into the government.
The main issue in this [day one] protest and controversial project focused on over 100 hectares of trees that would be cut to develop the mine. Costa Rican Supreme Court (Sala IV) ruled last April (see, Crucitis Mine Protest) Infinito can proceed with its open-pit gold mine, striking down complaints from environmental groups that the project was destroying virgin forest. But this week the Tribunal de Apelaciones Del Contencioso Administrativo del Segundo Circuito Judicial ruled in favor of nature, which got a standing ovation from environmentalists. Read more... (574 words, 1 image, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)
This voracious predators (Lionfish) now threatens the Caribbean coast
Back in June, 2009, Costa Rica scientists were ranting and raving how they discovered a new species of Lionfish, and almost a year later they now have second thoughts.
As protesters, protested at the Corte Suprema de Justicia on Earth Day, of why Corte Suprema gave a green light to reopen a Gold Mine that threatened water contamination and wildlife, eco-scientists on the Caribbean coast are trying to figured out how to education people on a new threat, the tropical Lionfish.
The Lionfish are also known as the Turkey Fish, Scorpion or Fire Fish. They are notable for their extremely long and separated spines, and have a generally striped appearance, red, green, navy green, brown, orange, yellow, black, maroon, or white.
This predatory fish from the Pacific Ocean has invaded the Caribbean region and threatens everything from coral reef ecosystems to the local economies. Limon, Costa Rica’s economical strong hold because of its port, the remainder of the coast pretty much relies on tourism generated income of fishing and diving. One group has called Lionfish, “A plague of Biblical proportions,” that may cause the Caribbean region to suffer. Read more... (556 words, 1 image, estimated 2:13 mins reading time)
