Curu Wildlife Reserve
Our journey through Costa Rica and Nicaragua started this morning with a visit to the Curu Wildlife Reserve. Located on the Nicoya Peninsula where some of the few last patches of tropical dry forest in Central America remain, Curu is a wonderful mosaic of life zones. Aside from its forest, we found mangroves and wetlands which host an enormous amount of plant and animal life. Upon landing, we were pleasantly surprised by the sight of howler monkeys, and it did not take long for us to find bats, iguanas, coatis, squirrels, Jesus Christ lizards, and white-faced capuchin monkeys.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the tropical dry forest is the way in which plants and animals have adapted to living in a habitat which is so extreme. During half of the year, this region looks like just about any rainforest, and starting in the month of December, the rains suddenly stop. The tropical sun becomes more intense, and the water in the creeks, ponds, and streams starts to dry up. Trees drop their leaves in order to save the precious liquid, and the forest starts to take on the appearance of a desert. Only animals equipped to survive in such harsh conditions remain in the area. The rest either migrate to neighboring cloud and rainforests or simply perish. Chances for survival, even for the fittest, diminished throughout the 20th century as tropical dry forests became isolated by farmlands and especially by cattle ranches. Efforts like the one made in Curu which is both a working ranch as well as a natural refuge are utterly important in the conservation of this precious and endangered tropical jewel.
Our journey through Costa Rica and Nicaragua started this morning with a visit to the Curu Wildlife Reserve. Located on the Nicoya Peninsula where some of the few last patches of tropical dry forest in Central America remain, Curu is a wonderful mosaic of life zones. Aside from its forest, we found mangroves and wetlands which host an enormous amount of plant and animal life. Upon landing, we were pleasantly surprised by the sight of howler monkeys, and it did not take long for us to find bats, iguanas, coatis, squirrels, Jesus Christ lizards, and white-faced capuchin monkeys.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the tropical dry forest is the way in which plants and animals have adapted to living in a habitat which is so extreme. During half of the year, this region looks like just about any rainforest, and starting in the month of December, the rains suddenly stop. The tropical sun becomes more intense, and the water in the creeks, ponds, and streams starts to dry up. Trees drop their leaves in order to save the precious liquid, and the forest starts to take on the appearance of a desert. Only animals equipped to survive in such harsh conditions remain in the area. The rest either migrate to neighboring cloud and rainforests or simply perish. Chances for survival, even for the fittest, diminished throughout the 20th century as tropical dry forests became isolated by farmlands and especially by cattle ranches. Efforts like the one made in Curu which is both a working ranch as well as a natural refuge are utterly important in the conservation of this precious and endangered tropical jewel.
