|
Corcovado National Park Trip Report (Part II) (click here to go back to Part I) Herpetology Trip: April 2004 By the time we finished tying up the canoe, and arrived back at the station, the others had returned from their hike up in the hills behind Sirena. They had encountered a Tamandua tearing apart some logs looking for ants and termites That evening after dinner, we were sitting around trying to decide exactly where we should hike and what we should look for. I went back to fill my water bottles and change camcorder batteries, but when I came back out to the porch, Kenny and Gaye were gone. Aaron mentioned that Kenny went back to get his headlamp, and was coming back soon, so I sat down and waited. Five minutes later, we heard yelling from back behind the station, beyond the tent area that’s attached to the side walkway near the dorms. We all went back there to see what the clamor was, and found Kenny. When Kenny slowed down from 50,000 to 33 RPM, we realized he was telling us that he had pinned a fast moving snake that Gaye had spotted with his foot. He ran through all the tri-colored snakes he knew in his head, and none were registering until he realized he was stepping on a bi-zonal coral snake (Micrurus nigrocintus)! For about 10 minutes we scoured the rocks and leaf litter where he saw it disappear, but to no avail. We then decided to go back to the spring area where the year before we had previously attempted to find red-eyed tree frogs (that is...until we were sidetracked by the giant terciopelo capture!). We could hear some tree frogs, but were having a tough time spotting them. I was taking my good old time, looking around, when someone shouted from further up on the trail. I could hear Joe chattering, so I figured it must be something venomous! Sure enough, Katie had spotted a juvenile male terciopelo cruising around along the trail, and they were now causing the snake a photographic misery! The snake was the neatest looking male terciopelo I had ever seen. We hiked a little further on, and someone, (either Jakob or Chuck) spotted a small racer-like colubrid in a bush, which turned out to be Dendrophidion percarinatum. We headed further up the trail where it started to get steep and ascend up into the hills, before calling it a night. We spotted a medium sized tarantula on a tree, which was the first tarantula I had gotten a close look at in Costa Rica (most are usually hidden in their burrows).
We (Myself, Chuck, Mike, Jakob, Katie, Zack, and Ferrenc)
started the hike a little after midnight. We arrived at the Rio Claro,
our first river crossing, and the tide seemed to be of little consequence.
We shone our lights upriver, and could barely make out the eye-shine
of a couple of moderately sized crocodiles. Those were not really a
concern; the bull sharks that inhabit the estuary, on the other hand,
were of greater concern. We all made it across unscathed and made our
way through the forest a short distance to where the trail hits the
beach. This is the area where the trees had impeded our path the year
before, and we had to bushwhack. This year the trail was clear, until
we got to the beach. The hike was pretty uneventful up until our approach of Punta Salsipuedes. I recognized that we were approaching this promontory, because there is a secluded half-moon shaped beach just to the west, which you follow all the way out to the point. As you get to the point, the trail becomes a little steeper, goes up a steep bank, and then drops down onto Salsipuedes. I noticed that the sun was beginning to come up. If it was already starting to get daylight, we were really running late on time. We passed Salsipuedes easily, as the tide was well out by then, and we stopped to rest on the other side. The sun was starting to come up, and it was one of the most beautiful sunrises I had ever seen. Now everyone realized why it was worth hiking the 11miles out, rather than taking the ‘easy’ way out of Corcovado, either by plane or by boat. Katie, Ferenc and I were not really paying attention to the others who disappeared up a streambed (we thought, to fill their water bottle). After a few minutes, we started to realize they had left! We started up the streambed and soon found the trail that went up and over a ridge, then back down towards the Rio Madrigal. This two-kilometer stretch to the Rio Madrigal is a welcomed break of walking on terra firma, rather than the soft slog of walking in the sand. We arrived at the Rio Madrigal, and came upon a massive mound of marine toads metamormorposing! There were at least 50,000 of them! You could barely take a step without worrying about squishing a dozen or more. Although they are common, the marine toad is one of the cutest animals on the Osa. Their bloated apathetic posture is quite alluring. As I sat there resting on a log, I noticed a flock of 5 macaws soaring overhead, two mated pairs flying side-by-side and a loner (likely the offspring of one of the pairs) following behind. The amazing thing was when one pair turned and went steeply upward and suddenly the male dropped into a free-fall in a corkscrew spiral pattern like a WWII fighter plane, shot down in a dogfight. This apparently was to impress his mate. The last 3 kilometers to La Leona was uneventful. We found
a low hanging bunch of wild bananas and Kate picked a couple to eat:
I’ve had better…these weren’t very ripe. We arrived at La Leona ranger
station and took a break for 5 minutes while Mike presented our park
passes to the rangers. He disappeared for a few minutes, and one of
the rangers came out calling for “Cocodrillo Dundee”! We decided to
get moving, since we only had an hour before the collectivo would leave
from Carate, so we headed up the beach to knock off the last 3km. I
could see the windsock of the Carate airstrip on the horizon, and it
seemed like this last stretch went quicker than usual. In what seemed
like no time at all, we arrived at the pulperia and bought coca-colas
while we waited for the collectivo to leave. There were two collectivos
running, but even so, they were both pretty crowded. Typically two collectivos
always run, so that if one gets stuck or breaks down, the other can
pull it out. This is even more critical in the rainy season, when river
crossings can be a big unknown. Our ride to El Remanso was about an
hour long. We were dropped off at the entrance of their driveway, and
hiked down the driveway of a couple hundred yards. BUENO! BUENO! BUENO (4/18) While we were hiking out, the others were being picked up by boat rather than flying out. Aaron, Joe, Tracy, and Erik decided the hike in was enough, and they didn’t feel up to hiking out. Those hiking out had packed our gear to be taken out by boat, to lessen the load and speed up the hike.
We arrived at El Remanso and were immediately greeted by Joel Stewart, owner of El Remanso. We sat on the porch and just relaxed for an hour or so, while Joel told us about some of the fauna he sees around the lodge—especially the bird species. While we were sitting there, a white crested coquette (a rare species of hummingbird) perched out on a tall cecropia tree about 50 yards from the patio. Joel aimed his spotting scope (he has a spotting scope set up all the time) at the hummingbird so we could get a better look. It was still only around 10 A.M.! We were all pretty tired, yet still wound up from the excitement of the hike. At around noon, the others arrived via taxi, and we unloaded our packs from the collectivo. Now that everyone was there, Joel gave us our lodge assignments. Most of us stayed in the Casa Grande, which is a two-level thatch roof rancho that can sleep about 8 people comfortably. It’s really relaxing, since it has a porch on both levels, with sitting couches and hammocks. The upper level has a nice view down into one of the ravines for spotting birds. All of us stayed in here, except Kenny, Gaye and Katie had their own cabina, as did Erik and Tracy. We sat on the patio where Chuck and I were entertained by a tiny gecko (Sphearodactylus graptolaemus) that was stalking across the cement around the pool. As it got closer to evening, we could hear an odd tree frog calling from one of the plants around the pool, and it took all of us canvassing the plants, before Katie found a male marbled milk tree-frog (Phrynohyas venulosa) wedged down in the folds of a plant. After dinner, we relaxed while Aaron, Joe, Chuck, and Erik walked around the lodge looking for any animals. Someone came running back to the patio, and said that they had found a snake. We figured it was a cat-eyed snake, but were extremely surprised to see that they had found a tree boa (Corallus hortulanus) in a bush. They caught the snake, and we put it in another tree (I think it was an Acacia because it was covered with fire ants, and I was in bare feet getting bitten left and right). It was amazing that this snake didn’t attempt to bite; it was quite mellow for a tree boa. We took some pictures and then left the snake alone. We went back to the patio and just sat around exchanging stories and trying to figure a plan for tomorrow. We could hear several frogs calling from around the pool, and were able to locate a red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) on one of the leaves. Dart Frogs, Boas and Terciopelo (4/19) We woke the next morning and sat around drinking coffee and discussing the plan for the day, while we waited for breakfast. Katie wanted to go horseback riding, so Joel arranged for a local tico to meet her down at the beach after breakfast. She woke late so she skipped breakfast (which was to my benefit…more for me!) and headed down the trail to the beach. We decided that the rest of us would take a hike down one of the streambeds, and follow it down to the beach. Typically, streambeds are the best place to find herps in the dry season. We went about half way down the trail toward the beach and turned off on a path that led down over the bank to the right, down to a streambed. I took my time as usual, hoping to stay well behind the group and see what they may have missed. I caught up to Gaye rather quickly, and then we both caught up to the rest of the group, but we found the rest of the group for a good reason. They had discovered an area where there were quite a few green-and-black poison dart frogs (Dendrobates auratus) hopping around. We meandered down the streambed, and the branch we were following merged with another and then yet another. About 50 yards from the beach, we had to crawl over a log, approximately 40 inches in diameter that had fallen across the stream. I didn’t think much of it at the time, as I videotaped everyone crawling over the log. We ended up on the beach, and stood around figuring out where to head next. Mike suggested we head down the beach to check out some tide pools. I wasn’t much up for hiking down the beach, partly because of the long hike to Carate, but also because I felt we had gone down the stream rather quickly, and didn’t take our time looking for herps, which I knew I wouldn’t see in the tide pools. I mentioned to Mike that I was going to hike back up the streambed, take my time, and meet everyone back at the lodge. After I mentioned that plan, Jakob, Chuck and Aaron decided they wanted to do the same thing. Joe decided he was going to go down the beach with the others. We had just turned around and were heading back to the stream and I said, “We’re going to find a terciopelo…a big one”. Aaron said, “Yeah, we will since Joe isn’t with us.” If there was one thing Joe wanted to find all week, it was a large asper (what better way to get bitten?) We started up the streambed, and traced our steps back to the fallen log. I was in the back, as usual, and wasn’t paying attention to Chuck and Aaron who were in front, and had disappeared up the stream. I watched Jakob go over the log, and was looking down at the streambed when I heard Jakob yell, “Uh Matt, I think this I may see a snake but I’m not sure”. I asked how big it was, thinking he was having trouble identifying it because it was so small. I crawled over the log and asked, “Where is it?” He replied “Its right there…I think it’s a snake.” I looked down and coiled in the leaves IN THE STREAMBED, NOT 3 FEET WHERE THE ENTIRE GROUP HAD WALKED DOWN, was a large female terciopelo, about 5’ in length. “HOLY [COW]!” I yelled. “HEY GUYS!!! THERE’S A HUGE ASPER DOWN HERE!!! BUT DON”T RUN, YOU MAY STEP ON ONE YOU DON’T SEE!” Well, that was pointless, because here they came, splashing down the stream like a couple of Labrador retrievers bringing back a couple of ducks! “Joe’s gonna freak!” Aaron said. “What do we have to put it in?” I asked. I had nothing big enough or any bags with me. Jakob said, “We can use my back pack”. I thought, “[Oh this ought to be good]”. We emptied the backpack and zipped both zippers just enough to leave a 6 inch opening. My first attempt at holding the bag open with one hook, and using another hook to point the snake’s head into the bag failed. While she did try to run away, she wasn’t moving very quickly, and was quite mellow for an asper. Not once did she strike or vibrate her tail. We tried again, this time making several attempts, with Chuck holding the backpack with one hook, while I held the other zipper with a hook, and tried to get her to go into the bag, hoping she would think it was a dark hole to escape into. This didn’t work either. We spent nearly 20 minutes trying this, until finally, I told Chuck, “I’ve messed with her long enough, she’s not going to strike. I’m going to get her head into the bag, and then I’ll just grab her body and stuff her in…once I get her in, just hold the bag steady and I’ll zip it shut quickly” We got her in the bag, and I zipped it shut…it worked! I tied the zippers shut with a piece of cord, and looped it over my snake hook to carry it back. You can never take a chance carrying a snake bag, as pit-vipers can still sense body heat through the bag, and can strike through the fabric. Many herpetologists have been bitten that way. We were all pretty excited and chatty on the hike back, thinking of ways to surprise the others with our catch! We hadn’t gone very far up the stream, when I said, “Stop! Did you see that?” Chuck said “Yeah, Look at the size of that Auratus!” It was by far the biggest Dendrobates auratus I had ever seen—captive born or wild! It was nearly 2.5 inches long. I dove down and tried to corral it, but it darted underneath an undercut bank and into a hole. I wasn’t about to stick my hands in there, realizing how 11 people had already walked right past a well camouflaged terciopelo, and no one spotted it… so who knows how many more big aspers were laying in this streambed! We headed back up the stream, finding no other herps, and rambled back up the bank to the main slippery clay path to the lodge. No sooner did we get there, did we hear the others coming up the trail. “Nuts, what are we gonna do?” I asked. Chuck said “Give me the backpack, I’ll take it back quick and hide it in our cabin.” Chuck took off like the Energizer Bunny, and sprinted up the hill with the backpack at arm’s length. He had just gone out of sight, when Kenny, Mike and Gaye showed up. “You see anything?” Mike asked. “Nah, just a few auratus” we replied. We went back to the lodge and relaxed for an hour or so, until our anticipation got the best of us. I went up to our cabina, got the backpack and said “Kenny, we caught a lizard that may be one of those odd forest chameleon type lizards”. I brought the bag down, and everyone had quizzical looks on their faces, as to why I had to open up a lizard bag with snake hooks. I said “Everyone get back, ‘cause its quick!” “What’s in there? It’s gotta be a snake!” Joe asked. I unzipped the bag and out sprung the terciopelo! “HOLY [Crow]!” Joe exclaimed. “Where’d you guys find that!” he asked. Everyone was excited to see such a big snake, but they were also a little disturbed when we told them that every one of us walked within 3 feet of the snake when it was curled up in the streambed. Joe remarked, “I knew it, as soon as I left, you [guys] would find a big one!” Aaron mentioned, “Matt said as soon as we left you guys ‘Dude, we’re gonna find a big asper!’” Someone asked, “Who found it?” and we replied, “Well, Jakob of course, he finds everything!” We took photos, and shot some more video of the snake and then bagged it back up (Mike using the same method we did to bag it--get its head started with a hook, then grab the body and shove it in the bag). I would take the snake back down before dinner. Later in the afternoon, Joe, Aaron and Chuck meandered off up the road to search for herps, and I decided to take the terciopelo down to release it. Katie wanted to go along, so we headed down the path toward the beach. We were half way down the trail, when we heard footsteps, and soon Chuck came sprinting down to catch up with us so he could see the asper released. We made it to the beach, and walked a few hundred yards north along the beach to the stream, since this was easier than walking down the streambed. We encountered a bunch of tiny jellyfish, which looked like miniature man-o-war jellyfish, and a single unidentified sea turtle that surfaced just beyond the waves. We walked up the stream where we found the snake, and showed Katie where it had been coiled. I unzipped the bag, and slowly and unstressed, the terciopelo took its time crawling out of the bag, through the leaves, and toward the bank away from the stream. There are few things more exciting that releasing terciopelo into the wild, and watching them slowly head back into their habitat. It’s at this point, that the true demeanor of a terciopelo can be seen. We headed back to the lodge, as it’d be almost dark soon and getting close to dinner. Costa Rica Park History 101 We mellowed out for the afternoon and just poked around the lodge looking for herps. I was walking back to the patio after a shower, when I noticed a brilliant emerald juvenile green iguana munching on some brilliant blue flowers. Evening seemed to come fairly quickly, and we sat around wondering what we would see that evening, and hashing out a plan for the following day. Silvia, a researcher staying at El Remanso, was doing research on the tree species found on the El Remanso property. She asked Kenny and me if we would like to try a star fruit margarita, made from fresh star fruit! We both gladly accepted the offer. We were enjoying our drinks, when Zack’s father Bert and some others showed up out of nowhere. We were quickly introduced to Steve Bell, and Dr. Alvaro Ugalde, MINAE Director of the entire Area Conservation de Osa for the Costa Rican government. Dr. Ulgalde is considered one of the grandfathers of the Costa Rican National Park System. When the park system was created back in the late 1960’s, it consisted of two employees: Dr. Ulgalde and Mario Boza. Dr. Ulgalde is currently working to secure funding to implement many important conservation programs on the Osa Peninsula, many of which are based around connecting the Piedras Blancas forest corridor with the Corcovado corridor and the forests of the Eastern tip of the Osa Peninsula. Many of the lodges on the eastern tip around Matapalo are becoming private conservation areas, including El Remanso, Bosque del Cabo, as well as Bert’s property and that of Steve Bell. Programs include an extensive jaguar tracking program, monkey surveys and censuses, as well as increased patrolling to stop illegal hunting of peccaries and other wildlife. Prior to dinner, Dr. Ulgalde gave us an inspiring lecture on the history of the national park system, and its formation in Costa Rican up through the present programs on the Osa. He stressed to us, especially in speaking to Kenny and I afterwards, about the importance of eco-tourism to the area, and how we could help by bringing groups down to experience the biodiversity of the region. His message was that exposing enthusiastic young persons to this area would help assure that the stewardship of this area will continue for future generations. We had an incredible feast that evening, which was capped off by Tres Leches for desert! Oh man, that was quite possibly the best desert I have ever had. It Never Ends! The next morning we ate breakfast, settled our bills, and waited for the taxi to arrive to take us back to Puerto Jimenez. We weren’t flying back to San Jose until 2PM, so we had plenty of time to get into town and have lunch. We left at around 10AM and were heading back to town, and were just approaching the Rio Platenares, when the taxi in front of us was stopped and everyone jumped out into the road. Either one of two things was going on; either they had found something, or had broken down. We stopped and jumped out. Sure enough, there was Mike standing in the road holding a large, 5-6 foot common boa constrictor!! Oh, this was too much! Just when we thought the trip couldn’t get any better, we find yet another first for all of us…a wild common boa constrictor! This was too much. We all took pictures and video of this large boid, which was hissing like a teakettle! It had quite a few scars, probably from big cats attacking it, or raptors trying to attack it. We watched as the snake disappeared into the forest. The area between Cabo Matapalo and Puerto Jimenez is actually second growth forest patches in-between cattle ranches. The boa constrictor seems to do just well in secondary drier forests, perhaps due to more rodents around cattle ranches. What an awesome find! We headed into town and chowed down on pizzas at the Italian restaurant in Puerto Jimenez. Katie went and got a souvenir machete to take home. We headed back to San Jose, and most of us then went to Grecia to visit the serpentarium. The others went into San Jose to check into the hotel. The serpentarium had a variety of neotropical and exotic snakes in outdoor cages, as well as a margay cat and some dart frogs (Dendrobates auratus, and Dendrobates pumilio). The breeding facility in the back was truly impressive. We headed back into San Jose around 5PM and met the others. We decided to eat dinner at the hotel, and sort our gear into piles according to how bad it smelled. A few went out to hit the nightclubs in San Jose, but the rest of us just relaxed, checked email at the hotel, and packed for the return home. We said our good-byes, and took a group photo before finally splitting up. We woke the next morning, and Erik and Tracy had early 7AM flights back home. Chuck, Joe and Aaron left for noon flights. The rest of us had a 2PM flight, so we headed downtown to the bookstore to buy several nature books that were difficult to find in the states. We made our purchases, and went back to the hotel. We checked out, and headed to the airport for an uneventful return flight. The trip was a success in many ways. New Species found.
A successful medical evacuation and the highlight of meeting Dr. Ulgalde
truly made this a memorable trip. The only drawback; now we have to
wait a whole year for the next trip!!
|
|
This site designed and hosted by Integrity PBS. Last Updated: August 14, 2004 |
