North Americans come from squirrel country -- Canada and USA both have all kinds of squirrels, living in trees and parks everywhere. But Costa Rican squirrels are different. Variegated Squirrels (Sciurus variegatoides) are tree squirrels and are found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Southern Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. There are some 15 different species of this squirrel, with a...

Image Courtesy of Diario Extra The Costa Rican Red Cross found the body of Nicholas Ray (27), off the Jaco Beach shore, Costa Rica. Ray was reported disappeared last Tuesday, believed to have been swept out to sea by a rip current while he was swimming with friends. His sister Nicole Ray Goldsby, had arrived from the US to help with the search, when the body was discovered. Red Cross and friend...

The Costa Rican Fishing Federation (FECOP), expressed their disappointment in the delay of a tuna law reform that would have given better protection to dolphins and other marine life that is captured as bycatch in the process of purse seine tuna fishing in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is one of the few countries that still allow tuna purse seine boats to capture dolphins while fishing for yellowfin ...

On March 26, U.S. President Joe Biden invited 40 world leaders to the Leaders Summit on Climate he will be hosting on April 22 and 23, the White House informed; this is the first action taken by Biden to return the United States to the Paris Agreement after former President Donald Trump announced the decision to leave in 2017 which didn’t become effective until November 2020. “The Leaders Summi...

Costa Rica appears in National Geographic Traveller magazine “Best of the World 2021” list, in which international editorial teams selected “35 incredible places to discover in 2021 and beyond”, under five categories: sustainability, family, nature, adventure and culture. “The joy of travel comes from the unexpected. And while the pandemic was just that, brining journeys to a standstill, it has...

Tour guides Gerald Pereira and Oscar Solano Rojas were conducting the “Sloth Tour” for the Sloth Conservation Foundation early on the morning of December 20th last year, when they saw something that stopped them dead in their tracks. Tucked into the leaves of a Cecropia (Guarumo in Spanish) tree was a mama sloth tending to a baby sloth, but the two sloths were from totally different species. Mama ...

The National Electric System (SEN) will sum at the end of 2020 its sixth consecutive year generating over 98% of renewable energy. The data provided by the Center of Energy Control (CENCE) also confirms that during the pandemic the electric consumption went down 3%. The energy that comes from the fuel is the lowest since 1986, this year it represented only 23.73 gigabytes hour, in addition to...

Bats are having their 15-minutes of fame this year because they are rumored to be the source of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Costa Rica is doing its part to add to the knowledge of this small mammal – a new one was recently discovered in Northwest Costa Rica, the Saccopteryx bilineata bat, native to the Talamanca Mountain Range. Bats themselves never suffer from viruses. One of the amazing charac...

Supermarket chain Walmart in Costa Rica which includes MasxMenos, Maxi Palí, and Palí have announced they will stop providing plastic bags as of January 1, 2021. Costa Rica has been working on its mission to becoming carbon neutral and banning the single-use plastic; eliminating supermarket bags is part of that goal. Most Costa Rican supermarkets have been promoting other options to pack g...

Famed bat biologist Dr. Bernal Rodriguez Herrera of University of Costa Rica, published a paper last week describing the bizarre mating ritual of what he called the “Masked Seducer” of the bat world, the Centurio Senex. The Latin name means “the hundred year old man”, referring to the odd, scrunched up, wrinkled face of this bat whose sex drive is apparently anything but geriatric. Up until 2018,...

At 11:01 p.m. on October 31st an earthquake described by many as "long and strong" shook Costa Rica and was felt in most of the Central Valley. According to the National Seismologic Network (RSN) the earthquake registered a magnitude of 5.7 and the epicenter was located 1 kilometer north of San Juan de Tibás in San José, it had a depth of 77 km. The movement was a result of the subduction of...

President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, exercised his right to veto a bill and said No once again to the practice of trawling. Alvarado gave a total veto to the bill, he explained that the analysis carried out to this date have not provided sufficient scientific elements and technical studies to guarantee the sustainability of the technique described in the bill. “For this reason and exercis...

The practice of trawling in Costa Rica has been a topic of discussion for several years, and since 2013 the Constitutional Chamber had forbidden the renovation or emission of new trawling permits due to the environmental damages this practice causes. There are currently no valid licenses for trawling. However, the topic was brought back to life this past few days when 28 members of Congress a...

On the weekend of September 20th, photos of the Spanish couple Pedro and Silvia Sierra went viral. They depicted the couple in Costa Rica, Pedro in camouflage jungle gear, and Silvia in a bra and pants. They appeared to be deep in the jungle in the photos, and seemed to be hunting domestic cats. There were photos of cats impaled on trees, being eaten by snakes, hanging upside down from Pedro’s han...

Late last month Costa Rican authorities completed 32 raids, arresting 27 people involved in illegal mining and an affiliated gold-laundering ring. The investigation began in April 2019, after authorities at San Jose’s Juan Santamaria International Airport noticed an unprecedented increase in the amount of gold listed in export documents filed. The investigation was thorough and intense, uncover...

A moderately strong earthquake shook Costa Rica this Monday, August 24 at 3:50 pm According to the National Seismologic Network (RSN)the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.2 and the epicenter was located 12 kilometers southwest of Jaco, Garabito, Puntarenas as a result of the subduction of Cocos plate. ...

Costa Rica is famous for its animal wildlife – but unaccustomed to seeing it in backyards and on small town roads. Experts think the current pandemic has meant fewer people out and about, causing less noise and traffic and making animals feel more comfortable to emerge, even in daylight. Security cameras, trap cameras and people’s cell phones have captured amazing sights. On February 15, a jagu...

Environmentalist Ulises Corrales Barrantes hiked into the forest on Saturday, June 13th, in search of seeds from a newly discovered tree in Reserva Dendrobates in Penas Blancas de San Ramon. His body was discovered on Tuesday morning by friends who had mounted a search party after he had not returned home. He was found face down in a ravine, his satchel and notebook at his side. The 39-year old...

This Saturday May 2nd The Costa Rican firefighters needed to battle the largest fire in the past ten years, a storage facility belonging the company Empaques Santa Ana located in El Coyol, Alajuela that started burning this afternoon. The 22,400 square meter (241,111 square ft.) facility was entirely entirely and required the presence of over 100 firefighters and 17 units that continued to batt...

The Costa Rica Ministry of Environment resolved a nullity appeal that was presented by the Costa Rican Federation for the Conservation of the Environment (FECON) and in this way puts a stop to the pineapple plantation project Hacienda Doña Victoria that intended to use close to 500 hectares of land located between Palmar Sur and Olla Cero in Buenos Aires, Puntarenas and that could have potential n...

Costa Rica's National Technical Environmental Secretariat (Secretaría Técnica Nacional Ambiental, Setena) recently granted a permit to a Project by Corporation Agricola del Monte S.A.-Pindeco for a plantation of 494.4 hectares in a property that is located right next to the Terraba -Sierpe Wetlands. Setena disregarded the objections presented by environmentalists and granted viability to the pr...

Trawling continues to be a topic of discussion for the Government of Costa Rica, this week, congressmen approved in first debate a bill that would bring back shrimp trawling, in total the bill, presented by deputies Melvin Nuñez from the National Restoration party, known as the Law for for Sustainable Exploitation of Shrimp Fishing, received 26 votes in favor and 18 against. This bill proposes...

A moderately strong earthquake was felt the evening of this Sunday, November 24 in Costa Rica. According to the National Seismologic Network (RSN) the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.4 and the epicenter was to the Northeast of Arancibia, Puntarenas due to the subduction of Cocos plate The movement took place at 7:33 p.m. and it was felt in San José, Cartago, Heredia...

According to the University of Costa Rica (UCR), there are some 144 species of snakes in Costa Rica. A new one was identified last month by two nature tourist guides, during a night walk in the Drake Bay of the Osa Peninsula. Welcome snake Number 145. The snake is a Dwarf Snake of Barbour, or a Trimetopon Barburi Dipsadidae, and has previously only been seen in Panama. The guides, Gianfranco Gomez...

An investigation carried out by the International Center of Economic Politics for Sustainable Development of the National University, that used data from 2016 to calculate the contribution of the country’s National Parks to Costa Rica’s finances put in evidence not only the ecologic importance but also the economic importance, social and institutional which is reflected in activities such as touri...

As part of a campaign to protect the Cocos Island UNESCO World Heritage Site, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society partnered with Costa Rica's Ministry of Environment to collect and transport 34 tons of marine pollution, illegal shark finning long lines, and other confiscated fishing gear, which had been accumulating on the remote volcanic island of Cocos for over 25 years. For a one-time project,...

Costa Rica wants to become the first country to regulate the incidence of cruel or inadequate selfies involving wild animals, this through the initiative #stopanimalselfies. A study carried out by World Animal Protection (WAP) in 2017, placed Costa Rica in the seventh place of the world in the number of inadequate photographs and selfies involving wild animals. In response to this and committed...

This is a big year for Costa Rica’s one and only Isla del Coco, Cocos Island National Park, as it received this week the “Blue Park” award for its condition as Global Ocean Refuge in the Gold category of the Marine Conservation Institute which promotes Marine Protected Areas that comply with certain standards of management and effectiveness. Cocos Island was nominated as a candidate back in Jul...

Sloths. We love them in Costa Rica. They are the spokes-animals for many tourist campaigns, and their adorable faces adorn t-shirts, mugs, change purses, and other souvenir/tourist objects visitors to Costa Rica take home with them after their vacations. Now, they have been made famous by two biologists from University of Wisconsin: Jonathan N. Pauli and M. Zachariah Peery, whose study of sloths h...

Since 2015 Costa Rica has surpassed 98% of clean energy generation, according to data from the National Center of Energy Control (CENCE); this will not be the exception for 2019 despite the dry conditions that have affected the region; so far, this percentage reaches 98.4%. This achievement involves the participation of 100 plants of the national electric park operated by the Costa Rican Electr...

During the United Nations Secretary General's Climate Summit, President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, called for the formation of a High Ambition Coalition of nations to push for a Deal for Nature that will protect 30% of the planet by 2030. The goal will be to finalize the deal at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Kunming, China in 202...

Costa Rica has received a 2019 Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honor, for its role in the protection of nature and its commitment to ambitious policies to combat climate change. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recognized Costa Rica in the policy leadership category. Costa Rica has drafted a detailed plan to decarbonize its economy by 2050, in line...

The National Customs Service and the Ozone Office of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, received an international award for their joint work in the prevention of illegal traffic of substances that depletes the ozone layer; the announcement was made this week in view of the celebration of the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, September 16, date in which t...

Carlos Roldán an investigator of the Costa Rican Technology Institute is promoting a referendum to vote the “Law of Exploitation of National Energy Resources” which would allow the exploration and exploitation of petroleum and natural gas in Costa Rica. The recollection of signatures began this week. A total of 5% of the electoral registry, 168,667 signatures are needed to call the national ref...

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, in its mission to defend, conserve and protect the seas and marine wildlife, announced that it is launching Operation Treasured Islands late this fall. The campaign focuses on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Tropical Eastern Pacific, a two million square kilometer area extending along the Pacific coast of the Americas from Mexico to P...

What would possess an American war veteran to spend all night alone on a Costa Rican beach, looking for turtle nests? Turtle Rescue! And it’s urgent. Mike Hughes seems to be an unlikely volunteer conservationist. But that’s exactly who he is, and he has probably saved thousands and thousands of turtle eggs from illegal turtle egg poachers who have now become well organized, and in many cases af...

Bananas are probably the most important fruit crop in the world, and in 2015 Costa Rica grew and supplied one out of ten bananas consumed globally. The banana industry of Costa Rica provides at least 100,000 jobs for Ticos. Will climate change negatively impact Costa Rican banana cultivation? A recent study conducted by the University of Exeter UK, indicates that ten countries (including Costa ...

This Saturday, August 24 we celebrate National Parks Day and Costa Rica offers free entrance to any of its 29 National Parks. Beach or mountain destinations, Costa Rica has a variety of options to offer, some just an hour away from the capital city. Costa Rica has 169 protected areas that represent 26% of the country’s total area; these protected areas include national parks, national monum...

The Jaguar Program of Universidad Nacional released amazing video of a mama jaguar and her two cubs, just in time for Mother’s Day. The video was taken by nocturnal cameras in the Dry Forest of Guanacaste. “What better way to celebrate this day (Mother’s Day), than to see a Mama Jaguar and her two cubs in the Dry Forest of the Parque Nacional Santa Rosa!” Researchers have been following this...

The year 2017 saw the second highest global tree cover loss recorded in the history of this planet, according to the World Economic Forum. Researchers at the University of Maryland (USA) found an area of tree loss equal to the size of Bangladesh. That equates to losing 40 soccer fields covered in trees every minute for a year. But guess what, Costa Rica took the fight in the other direction, decla...