From
riponcollegedays.com
By Luke Balsavich
Early in my journey, I visited the rainforests of Guyacon,
a place where I was hoping to encounter some of those tropical
herps (reptiles and amphibians) I have seen so much of on
the Discovery Channel or in those adventure magazine articles
about the magnificence and beauty of the tropics. What I
experienced while I was there surpassed all of my expectations...
While walking through the forest, the first thing you cannot
help but be amazed by would be the noises.
Noises I can't begin to describe, from every angle, surround
you as you walk through the forest under the canopy. It
is night, and we are walking slowly and listening. Then
to the right I see the first herp. It is a flash of bright
red, so fast and brilliant that you are at first unable
to do anything but look. You know exactly what it is; its
conspicuous color alone tells you it is Dendrobates pumulio,
a poison dart frog that thrives on the floor of the forest.
The night progresses and we hear many songs. These songs
are from tree frogs and glass frogs overhead. The rain has
woken them up, and they are singing. They sing all night,
completely oblivious to massive habitat destruction, species
declinations or war in the Middle East. They are singing
about sex.
One of my companions is a guy named Brian, and we are capturing
herps to discover the species that are present in the area.
He has been here searching for years, but we still look.
In this one night we have found 16 different species, and
I am lucky enough to find Agalychnis callidryas, the red-eyed
leaf frog well known for its bright red eyes and bluish
purple sides that make it so photogenic.
A few of the other things I am lucky to see, with the help
of my companions, include the annulted tree boa, jumping
pit viper and hog-nosed pit viper. I am hoping to see the
Terciopelo (Fer de Lance), but they have remained unseen
on this trip.
Later on my trip, I am in the cloud forests near Monteverde
by the little pueblo of San Luis, where I am doing my research.
With the aid of my field collaborator, Andres Vaughan,
I am making a list of the herpefauna here, and have nine
transects through the forests, streams, ponds and pastures.
I have seen some of the most amazing creatures I could
ever imagine, from the numerous and beautiful morpho butterflies
to the rare and reclusive cat-eyed snake Leptodeira annulata,
which previously has never been reported in this area.
I am excited to go out each morning and night. I might
go to the streams, where I often see Basiliscus basiliscus
(Jesus Christ lizard) sleeping lazily in the trees.
I could go to the ponds, where I have many times encountered
Drymobius margaritiferus (the speckled racer) while hunting
Rana forreri (the leopard frogs) along the water's edges.
Still, if I hike into the cloud forest, I might see Spilotes
pullatus (tiger rat snake) darting through the trees or
forest floor or Norops biporcatus (canopy anole) foraging
in the trees or shrubbery. Everywhere I go here, I am surrounded
by wildlife.
Here the loudest residents are not those in Bovay or Brockway,
but the monkeys, whose calls would mute any noise from the
crazy residence halls of Ripon.
If I had to say what I like best about my Costa Rica experience,
it would be the collage of beauty, serenity, complexity
and danger that one can find in the tropical forests. Anyone
doubting the presence of beauty should look at an emerald
toucanette, whose lush, green plumage would inspire any
painter to pick up a brush.
Anyone wanting serenity could sit and listen to the sounds
of the night in the cloud forest, or go to a stream under
the canopy of a rainforest, where you're sure to find peace.
Anyone looking for complexity needs only to take a look
at a colony of leaf-cutter or army ants, or perhaps the
birds that specialize on their presence, a result of eons
of evolutionary adaptation.
And anyone who wants to see danger should look into the
eyes of an eyelash viper or Terciopelo, or wave a fist at
an africanized bee, the result of which would likely be
death.
All of these amazing things are here and can be experienced
by all of those people willing to walk and speak a little
bit of Spanish.
