Costa Rica 2013

Monday4November

Located about twenty kilometers south of Cahuita between Punta Viejo and Punta Cocles, the Jagua Rescue Center is a foundation dedicated to collecting injured animals to treat them and release them back into the wild. For a fee, you can visit the center with a guide and get up close to the animals.

Upon entering, reptiles can be observed in vivariums. On the right, zoom in to see the magnificent, totally green eyes of this snake. Below, the yellow Schlegel's viper that we had already seen in the wild in Cahuita Park.

A magnificent keel-billed toucan (ramphastos sulfuratus) with a damaged beak.

A red-lored amazon (amazona autumnalis).

Here is Encar Garcia, one of the founders of the center and always on the front lines taking care of the rescued animals.

A Montezuma oropendola (psarocolius montezuma) seems jealous of the attention Encar Garcia gives to this little monkey...

And passing by again, a small portrait of the red-lored amazon.

Then we can approach the young monkeys in recovery, some are very cuddly and come into our arms!

A little further on, an open area where birds of prey await on their perches, including a spectacled owl (pulsatrix perspicillata).

This other bird of prey awaits our guide's signal to fly off and snatch the piece of meat he holds in his hand

Then we come across curious frogs that all seem a bit deflated. I don't know it yet, but in a few moments I'm going to witness what, for me, alone makes the trip to Costa Rica worthwhile...  

The frog uses suction to hold itself suspended on this leaf.

And here are the eggs of this mysterious frog, also laid under a leaf.

And here is the jewel of Costa Rica, delicately placed on its large petiole, the red-eyed tree frog, Agalychnis callidryas, reveals all its incredible beauty that it secretly hid in its crude camouflage. The beauty is the beast.

She is captivating.

Touched by grace, green and red are not enough for her; she also needs a pretty striping of yellow and blue on her flank. Superb.

Phew, it's no wonder she has become one of the country's emblems. It's hard to leave her, fortunately, at the very end of the trip we'll be able to approach her again and for even longer!

Luckily the guide was there to find her and introduce her to us!

Continuation of the visit with a baby anteater (tamandua mexicana) finishing its milk ration.

And boom, another session with my red-fronted amazon friends.

The small Central American feline, the wild cat or ocelot (leopardus pardalis)

And here are the center's celebrities, at least for the French, because a few days earlier a 360° GEO report titled "Costa Rica, the Sloth Sanctuary" was broadcast on the Arte channel. And by chance, I saw it without knowing I would be there a week later! Here is the link to the video http://tinyurl.com/ha3cn46

These are two-toed sloths (choloepus didactylus)

A close-up of its two claws that allow it to hold onto branches effortlessly. Two claws in the front, three claws in the back!

And now the sloth in motion! While its movement is very slow, it is much faster (everything is relative) at catching leaves and eating them...

I don't know how cohabitation works among all these little creatures, but I think this one stays safely in its enclosure...  

Just like the specimen we encountered in Tortuguero, this is a spectacled caiman (caiman crocodilus).

Two striped owls (pseudoscops clamator)

The Jaguar Rescue Center, a haven of peace for this red brocket deer (mazama americana).

After the keel-billed toucan, here is the chestnut-mandibled toucan (ramphastos ambiguus)! It has less color than its cousin, so it tries to be interesting to get noticed!

Okay, he convinced us, he's not a loser!  

Now, after this beautiful morning, let's enjoy the Caribbean with Punta Uva beach!

Come on, let's dive back into this superb Caribbean sea for a minute...  

My feet!

Alright, fajitas for lunch and off to the Iguana Farm a few kilometers away!

Located about ten kilometers from the Jaguar Rescue Center, the iguana farm is run by the Kekoldis, an indigenous Bribri people. They preserve the ancestral traditions of their community, such as language, shamanism, and ritual dances.

Adult iguanas are free-roaming. The smaller ones are kept safe from predators behind fencing.

Despite their diverse and vibrant colors, these are green iguanas (iguana iguana).

Under the throat, the imposing gular dewlap.

The Kekoldis host who welcomed us.

The large round shape at the base of the head is the masseteric scale; it has no particular role. Just above, at the start of the mouth, is the tympanic membrane which protects the eardrum. And below the first dorsal spines, the small round protuberances are the tuberculated scales that protect against bites.

Here we are now in Manzanillo. We will never be this close to Panama again, as the border is only about ten kilometers away! The day is starting to fall, so we'll just stick to a short walk on the beach...

So, after this beautiful day, back to Cahuita. For dinner, nachos (corn chips).