Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
Today we all took the rare chance of walking through one of the most pristine pieces of tropical rainforest still standing in the Central American area. Because of its remoteness, only accessible by boat or foot, the Osa Peninsula has been sheltered from a lot of the impact human inhabitation brings with it. Trees as tall as 100 feet high related to mahogany, giant “bean stalks” heading towards the sky as thick as a tree trunk, blue morpho butterflies fluttering above the running waters of the river, many species of birds, and the deafening buzzing of the cicadas welcomed us into their realm.
A first-time visitor to a tropical forest is usually too overwhelmed by the simple mass of greenery to become fully aware of the diversity of plants involved. The most striking feature of tropical forests is that they have so many more kinds of plants and animals than do forests of the temperate zone. One hectare – 100 by 100 meter square – in temperate zones includes 16 species of trees, while the same area in the tropics includes 91 species in the least diverse tropical forests; in Brunei the same area contained 256 species of trees! Why are there so many more kinds of animals and plants in the tropical rainforests? Because a warm, wet climate and the lack of winter renders possible an ample, continuous production of vegetable matter.
It is always a treat for our naturalists to be able to point out any animal in the rainforest, especially if it’s a mammal since they are shy and well camouflaged, but particularly when it’s a primate! Maybe we identify so much with them because they remind us so much of ourselves, after all we are one. Costa Rica has four species of non-human primates: Central American squirrel, white-throated, mantled howler, and Central American spider monkeys. On the first two days of our voyage we have already seen three of them. Many of us got a good view of the white-throated capuchin monkeys yesterday morning, and today a fantastic show of “howling howlers” and swinging spider monkeys, like the one shown above, reminded us of how fortunate we are to be here.
Today we all took the rare chance of walking through one of the most pristine pieces of tropical rainforest still standing in the Central American area. Because of its remoteness, only accessible by boat or foot, the Osa Peninsula has been sheltered from a lot of the impact human inhabitation brings with it. Trees as tall as 100 feet high related to mahogany, giant “bean stalks” heading towards the sky as thick as a tree trunk, blue morpho butterflies fluttering above the running waters of the river, many species of birds, and the deafening buzzing of the cicadas welcomed us into their realm.
A first-time visitor to a tropical forest is usually too overwhelmed by the simple mass of greenery to become fully aware of the diversity of plants involved. The most striking feature of tropical forests is that they have so many more kinds of plants and animals than do forests of the temperate zone. One hectare – 100 by 100 meter square – in temperate zones includes 16 species of trees, while the same area in the tropics includes 91 species in the least diverse tropical forests; in Brunei the same area contained 256 species of trees! Why are there so many more kinds of animals and plants in the tropical rainforests? Because a warm, wet climate and the lack of winter renders possible an ample, continuous production of vegetable matter.
It is always a treat for our naturalists to be able to point out any animal in the rainforest, especially if it’s a mammal since they are shy and well camouflaged, but particularly when it’s a primate! Maybe we identify so much with them because they remind us so much of ourselves, after all we are one. Costa Rica has four species of non-human primates: Central American squirrel, white-throated, mantled howler, and Central American spider monkeys. On the first two days of our voyage we have already seen three of them. Many of us got a good view of the white-throated capuchin monkeys yesterday morning, and today a fantastic show of “howling howlers” and swinging spider monkeys, like the one shown above, reminded us of how fortunate we are to be here.
