Are We Loving Costa Rica To Death? Warning – Disturbing photos included but this is a necessary reminder of what we are doing to this country …

What’s not to love? The scenery is post card gorgeous! The climate as close to perfect as possible. The native Costa Ricans are warm and friendly with infectious smiles.

And especially for those of us who treasure wildlife above all, Costa Rica has a plethora of wildlife diversity almost unique to the rest of the world. If you didn’t realize it, Costa Rica is uniquely located as a type of “land bridge” linking not only North American species of wildlife with South American, but having unique indigenous species all of her own.

This results in untold numbers and variety of birds, mammals and reptiles — a treasure trove to enjoy and study. But Costa Rica because of her uniqueness is fragile…

And they are coming in droves. And have been increasing for some time. Foreigners inebriated with the charm of the country and lifestyle. But foreigners come in a variety of “packages”.

Some, like myself and many others, come with an almost mystical reverence for enjoying and protecting the delicate ecosystem. We feverishly reforest in tracts of land previously destroyed by the grazing of cattle. We thrill at the return of wildlife previously pushed away by domestic livestock.

But there are others who come here seeing opportunities at financial success to purchase large tracts of land to “develop” and reap the financial rewards of the current fervor to own a slice of “paradise” in Costa Rica.

Emblazoned on glossy brochures which are adorned with toucans and howler monkeys, are enticements to join the growing swell of vacation dwellings being developed across huge tracts of land all across Costa Rica.

Fragile rain forest supporting untold species, is being replaced by vacation housing impacting enormous “footprints” across the country. Ironically, the people developing and purchasing these home sites don’t stop to realize that the very species that decorate their pricey brochures are being displaced and disappearing so fast that ultimately all that will be left will be the ghostly images captured on those advertisements.

This is fragmenting and diminishing habitat and feeding routes at devastating rates. The destruction and suffering of these frantic animals comes in several forms that are not listed in these brochures. All of the animals are being impacted, but some are more visible than others.

Deaths of howler monkeys is escalating due to being hit by cars as they frantically try to cross the road to try to follow their diminishing feeding routes as habitats shrink and traffic increases. Unspeakable suffering is escalating due to electrocutions on power lines as the monkeys are forced to traverse fatal power lines to follow previously safe feeding routes.

The details are what nightmares are made of as rescue workers, Vickie and Steve Coan and Brenda Bombard sadly relate their experiences of baby monkeys on the backs of their moms with fingers blown off by the instant electrocution of their moms as they frantically grip the backs of their mom.

Other howler monkeys surviving the initial electric “blast” end up chewing their fried hands or feet off and then dying a hideous death. The monkeys suffer the same bout with electricity in areas where people allow branches to grow into the power lines turning a succulent mango tree into a tree of death for these peaceful primates.

Shrinking habitat is also forcing troops of monkeys to flee across open tracts of land to follow their browsing trees, pursued by packs of dogs that will viciously attack them and win in the end.

I listened intently as Steve, Vickie and Brenda, pain and sadness etched in their exhausted faces as they related case after case, each more pathetic than the others, fists full of photos in their hands to document the graphic burn details.

These heroic folks are working harder than anyone on a mission of mercy without any help should have to as they relate their time and money being totally exhausted trying to save or ease the pain of these tragic victims.

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We spent hours discussing the plight of these brave little monkeys. What has gone so terribly wrong in paradise? We know for a fact that not one “developer” actually intended to come down to watch a monkey tragically burned and paralyzed trying to crawl across the road. It really comes down to lack of knowledge and planning.

This suffering can’t continue. There are actually steps that can be taken to reverse this nightmare. They aren’t instant fixes but they must be put in place immediately.

The following steps can make enormous differences to the involved wildlife:

1. Anyone owning property prior to building, can plan carefully in the placement of their home site and disrupt as few trees as possible with future plans for reforestation to join existing feeding routes. Just a little study and planting can make a huge difference.
2. If your home is already built, again study the feeding routes of the howler monkeys carefully planting monkey friendly trees (see my article “Howler Monkeys, Living on the Edge”) to connect their feeding routes.
3. When planning your home, insist on underground power lines or insulated power lines. And yes, those do cost more in the building budget, but please never tell me these animals aren’t worth it. The cost of “living in paradise” and protecting the precious species are worth every colone/cent. If need be, adjust the size of your home a few square feet to budget in the cost of safe electrical wires. Your conscience will be glad that you did.
4. Keep branches trimmed back from any power lines within reach of your property and don’t be bashful about mentioning this to your neighbour. If they are Ticos, offer to help get their foliage cut back to save these monkeys.
5. Never miss an opportunity to share and educate others to the plight of our wildlife and try to make a difference. (Each one, teach one).
6. Are there any electrical engineers who are knowledgeable about high voltage power lines reading this website? Can you give advice and help out? We desperately need you!

Are You Willing To Help?

If you are willing to help Brenda, Vickie and Steve Coan’s rescue efforts, please email them at jungalow@gmail.com or sibucr@gmail.com and ask them how you can support them to try to correct these tragedies.

Ask them what more can be done to ease this horrible suffering. We can’t live in “paradise” with our “nearest relatives” suffering from such abuse. Collectively, we each can make a huge difference!

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Written by Gloria Dempsey. Zoologist in Arenal, Costa Rica. April 2008

If you would to contribute to the rescue and care of wildlife in Costa Rica and maybe help with the cost of a new portable X-ray machine, please send a US cashier’s cheque to our Zoologist friend in Arenal Gloria Dempsey:

Gloria Dempsey
5717-28 Nuevo Arenal – Tilaran
Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Or you can email Gloria Dempsey at zoologist@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.