Word of the Day: Castilla elastica, the scientific name for the common species of rubber tree found in the La Selva neotropical rain forest. This is the cousin of the tree used in commercial rubber production.
Science of the Day: Today we arrived in La Selva after a four hour drive from La Fortuna. We immediately unpacked the van and put away our equipment so we could meet with Kenneth and Albert to take an exploratory walk in the rain forest. On our introductory walk we briefly stepped into the secondary sucession of the neotropical rain forest. Here we found many new and interesting animals:
- A two toed sloth was nearly mistaken for an epiphyte high in a canopy tree
- A crested Guan alongside its juveniles
- A green iguana resting on a branch over a river
- A red eyed leaf frog (as seen in picture to the right)
- A troop of Howler monkey's calling in the thunder
- Two species of ants: Leaf cutter ants (the most common) and Bullet ants (very nasty bite and sting)
- Two species of Motmots: Rufous and Broad beaked
- A red and black poison dart frog
- A colony of long nose bats
- A miniature bat lodged in the crack of a wooden sign post
- A Caiman, a species of crocodile
- A female marine toad
- Two species of Toucan
- A pair of Green Parrots, which mate for life
Today's Culture: We were a hungry bunch of scientists, and to satisfy our appetite we stumbled upon this road side restaurant. Because this was a small town we had the opportunity to engage in conversation with only Spanish speaking people. This gave us a chance to explore our knowledge of the language and their culture.
with our driver Luis (front left).
Question of the day: The La Selva Biological research facility is a protected natural preserve. If your back yard was part of the wilderness and left undisturbed, would it be as bio-diverse as a tropical rain forest?
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| Unidentified bat species located in highlighted hole |
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