Vincent Losasso

You’ve done it. You successfully left behind the traditional life that you were most likely going to live. Instead of getting the job, signing up for the mortgage, and settling into your old neighborhood, you’ve upset your whole family and moved to Costa Rica. That’s for sure the hardest part. […]

I’m a sucker for birds of prey. Any time I happen upon a hawk, kite, falcon, or eagle while hiking to review camera traps, I’ll take a moment to observe and appreciate it. For me, owls are even more of a delight to encounter, probably because I see them so […]

The goals of my camera trap projects are clearly defined. The first and most important goal is documenting as many species of wildlife as possible. The second goal, and the reason my cameras are set to video mode rather than photo mode, is to record the fascinating behaviors of these […]

For five years now it has been my official job to confidently walk into the jungle, crash around looking for the best possible locations, strap a camera trap to a tree, and record the amazing biodiversity of Costa Rica. When people ask me what I do for a living and […]

I spend much of my time using motion-sensor camera traps to observe the natural behaviors of wildlife in Costa Rica. The thousands of resulting videos need to be reviewed and entered into databases, so I also spend a large portion of my time sitting in my sweaty little office watching […]

Today we discuss the “king” of Tico ducks, the Muscovy duck. A species of duck that has been taken under the wing of humanity to such a degree that it split into two subspecies. The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is known as the pato real in Spanish. That translates to […]

Today we meet the yellow-headed caracara, a fairly new resident of Costa Rica that has an intimate relationship with another, far larger species of wildlife. The yellow-headed caracara (Milvago chimachima) is called the caracara cabecigualdo in Spanish. These are small, lightly built birds of prey. Their wings are dark brown […]

Costa Rica is home to one species of sea snake, the yellow-bellied sea snake. These snakes are highly venomous, pelagic, and ovoviviparous. Let’s get into the details. The yellow-bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus) is known as the serpiente marina, serpiente marina amarilla, or serpiente del mar in Spanish. These pretty […]

Along with ‘Where am I going to live?’ and ‘How am I going to learn Spanish?’, ‘How am I going to get around?’ is one of the most basic questions that needs to be answered if you are going to successfully live in Costa Rica. Perhaps the circumstances of your […]

While having dinner last night with friends from the US who are here vacationing in Guanacaste, I was presented with a common question, “You’re the wildlife guy. What snakes do we need to worry about?” Costa Rica is home to 141 species of snakes, and it’s a common concern that […]