All Entries in the "Endangered Species" Category

El Niño and Pathogen Killed Costa Rica Toad – Not Global Warming

The Monteverde golden toad, vanished from Costa Rica’s Pacific coastal-mountain cloud forest in the late 1980s. The role that climate change played in the toad’s demise has been fiercely debated in recent years.

According to a new study, global warming did not kill a Costa Rica amphibian often cited as an example of climate-triggered extinction.

Traveling with Kids in Costa Rica; an Age-by-Age Guide

Costa Rica is a near-perfect family vacation destination. Not only does it have exotic wildlife, jungles, and volcanoes, it’s easy to get to, warm, and safe for tourists —all in all a perfect entry-level adventure trip.
Thinking of venturing to Costa Rica with your family this year? Here’s a guide to the best kinds of trips [...]

Boosting Biodiversity and the Global Economy by Saving a Species

“Forty-nine”, a researcher whispers.
After counting the slimy, round white eggs just laid by a rare leatherback turtle in a hole dug in the sand under bright moonlight on Playa Grande beach in Costa Rica; researcher Tera Dornfeld marks the site of the eggs after the female turtle has filled in the hole with her giant [...]

Costa Rica’s Indigenous Boruca Indian Tribe

The Boruca (also known as the Brunca or the Brunka) are a native American tribe of indigenous people living in Costa Rica.
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples. They are often also referred to as Native Americans.
The Boruca [...]

Costa Rica’s President: It’s Not Easy Being Green

From the ubiquitous T-shirts sporting a red-eyed tree frog clinging to an Imperial beer bottle, to the best-selling postcards featuring the flamboyant poison-dart frog holding court in the rainforest, Costa Ricans today identify with frogs the way Russians relate to bears. That’s because Costa Rica over the past generation has built a reputation as one [...]

Why is Costa Rica Smiling?

This Central American country tops the Happy Planet Index.
A child growing up in the Costa Rican countryside is surrounded by some of the most beautiful and biodiverse landscapes in the world. The government of this tiny Central American country aims to keep it that way. But preserving this land of tropical rainforests isn’t Costa Rica’s [...]

Drugs, Guns… and Eggs?

“She’s got eggs!” shouted the police officer behind mirrored aviators from the bow of the boat. Dressed in dark blue SWAT-style fatigues, the officer held up a wet, woven plastic sack at arm’s length.
I was in one of the three water taxis departing Tortuguero, Costa Rica at 11:30 a.m. which were all stopped mid-stream. Blocking [...]

Blogger’s View of ‘Hopenhagen’ Climate Summit featuring Costa Rica

My name is Aubrey Ann Parker, I am 24, from Traverse City, and I am one of 12 student representatives from The University of Michigan attending the 15th Conference of the Parties United Nations Climate Change Convention beginning this week in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I will be blogging for the Detroit Free Press from Tuesday to next [...]

Minnesota Native Leaps Into His Work in Costa Rica

At The Costa Rica Frog, we like Costa Rica frogs! Sounds redundant, but it’s so true we just can’t say it enough
Fortunately, Minnesota native Brian Kubicki likes frogs too!
Brian Kubicki is a self-taught herpetologist that came to Central America in 1998 to study the Neotropical glass frog species.
Kubicki notes that Minnesota only has [...]

Costa Rica Turtles Casualties of Warming and Development, Leatherback Boys to the Rescue

The Costa Rica resort town of Playa Grande was long known for Leatherback Sea Turtle National Park, nightly turtle beach tours and even a sea turtle museum. So Kaja Michelson, a Swedish tourist, arrived with high expectations. “Of course we’re hoping to see turtles — that is part of the appeal,” she said.
But haphazard development, [...]

Humane Society Teaches Rural Costa Rica School Children about Biodiversity Protection

Cacao Farms Provide Habitat for Migratory and Endemic Birds and Endangered Species

Humane Society International (HSI) is conducting a series of environmental education workshops in the rural region of Talamanca in Costa Rica. The workshops for schoolchildren will begin Oct. 26 and be held at 10 schools. The program is part of HSI’s environmentally friendly cacao [...]