Recently crocodiles have been in the news in Costa Rica. There has been an increase in crocodile sightings and within the last year or so folks are starting to wonder if there’s a problem with the country’s crocodile population. I’ll be forthright with my feelings on the American crocodile (Crocodylus […]
Vincent Losasso
77 posts
A few years ago, my wife, baby son, and I were prompted to move from one coastal town in Guanacaste to another when my wife took a new job heading a small non-profit. Our first rental was a small house on a small lot which had been scooped out of […]
Today we meet the anhinga, a long-necked bird who’s adept at swimming and spearing fish and is sometimes confused with being a snake. The anhinga’s scientific name, (Anhinga anhinga), gets right to the point. Twice. It’s Spanish name, pato aguja, which translates to needle duck, comments on the physical appearance […]
My work with camera traps is a combination of science and art. Ecology is the study of the relationship between living organisms and their physical environment. An understanding of the species that I’m seeking out and how those species use their environment certainly has an effect on the success of […]
Part of the fun of moving from a temperate climate to the tropics is the discovery of new fruits. During my first year in Costa Rica, I was treated to a variety of new tropical delights including guava, passion fruit, mamón chino, mangosteen, and water apple. Even the fruits that […]
The cat family is well represented in Costa Rica with six different species of felines calling the small country home. Throughout my years of attaching cameras to trees in Costa Rica, I’ve had varying degrees of interactions with each species. Here’s a list of each species in order of the […]
Today, as I sit in Guanacaste listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof of my sweaty little office, I find myself pining for dry season. Costa Rica is famous for its varied microclimates. One can travel to different elevations in the span of less than a day, arriving […]
Today’s featured avian creature is the White Hawk, a widespread, beautiful bird of prey whose life is still a bit of a mystery. The white hawk (Pseudastur albicollis) is called the gavilán blanco in Spanish. The English and Spanish names hit the nail on the head because the white hawk […]
A few days ago, around six o’clock in the evening I was doing regular dad stuff, yelling at kids to turn down the volume on their iPads and chatting with my wife, when my phone declared I had a new message on WhatsApp with a loud ping. The phone revealed […]
Unless the whole of your Costa Rica experience is confined to downtown San Jose, your travels in Costa Rica are going to involve Ticos of the bovine variety. Cows are an integral part of rural Costa Rican culture. They’re providers of meat and milk, they’re savings accounts on four legs, […]