January 13, 2020. I was dead tired from an all day expedition to find rare sea snakes out on the Golfo Dulce. Falling asleep early...I never noticed the emails that had come in just after dusk. When I woke up to howler monkeys at 4:45 am....I checked my email....I had two photos send from our wireless cell cameras to our e-mail account. The first email had this photo:
Ahh...Ocelot! Cool....We had seen plenty of them over the years...Its always a treat.....however...there was something more to the picture than just an Ocelot. Even with motion blur of the photo, I could clearly see the distinct eye-shine of a prey animal. The Ocelot had a meal!
I made a mental note and moved onto the next e-mail image that had come in a few minutes later. I recognized the location as a few minutes up the trail from the first Ocelot image. And there it was again, the same Ocelot.
Ocelot with prey at ASPER CREEK
Yes...she still had that prey item in her jaws. Well that was very interesting that she had followed the trail. I had other non-wireless cameras positioned before the first image and after the second image. They were only still cameras, but perhaps I could figure out where she caught her dinner and where she was going with it.
I decided that when the sun came up, that I take a walk on our Loop trail and check the pictures on the cameras and see what turned up.
This is what I saw:
That's our cat with her rat, a Tome's Spiny Rat. Outstanding!
But wait a minute...that rat is alive. Of course, I asked myself a question...why would she be carrying it away from the capture site and why would it be alive. I could not answer for a few more weeks and I checked the cameras once again.
In the meantime I had retraced the steps the Ocelot had taken with her prey. The color photo was first, followed by the eye-shine photo and ending up with the cat in what we call Asper Creek.
Here was the order of her travel:
Yes, the times were off a little bit and it was then I learned that cell cameras are as accurate time keepers as other cameras. This was backed up by the times that I received the emails.
After I had collected the memory cards from the cameras again it became apparent as to why she was carrying a live rat for a distance of several hundred meters and risk dropping it or something worse along the way. She had a Kitten!
The mom was an Ocelot that we had seen for almost five years on the property that we named 'Chere'. We have seen Chere with several young over the years. We are happy to see that her latest looks very robust with nice fat paws( called a mani gordo in Costa Rica). In the coming months we look forward to sharing more pictures and some videos here and on our You Tube Channel.
Chere's last kitten was in quite a few videos, including these classisc:
Thanks for visiting and watching the videos...we'll see you next time.
"Ok Mom....I'll see you in a few hours.....no ma'm....I'll be fine...yes, I'll wait right here for you!"
The chubby young ocelot told his mom.
She left.... he sat there.
He licked his paw and cleaned his face.
"What are those blinking lights on that tree?"
Eyes spies a Camera Trap!
"Oh...never mind...I'm hungry maybe I'll have a snack. A snake snack sounds great!"
"Cool, I caught a snake!"
"Where is Mom?", he thought... and he wandered in last direction...
Oh well...I'll just wait...
What are those strange blinking lights...I'll lick them...no...I'll bite and twist them.
WOW!
Bored he wanders off...
But around 3 the next day he returned and visited with the cameras as endangered squirrel monkeys screamed at him overhead.
The humans walked by that night and noticed the twisted camera.
Frank, James, and Owen walk by that night!
Later that same night, he shows back up and plays in front of the camera with his friend!
Cute Cats Playing
Here is the full video! If you can click the "Watch on You Tube" button for a bigger picture.
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A Jaguarundi(Herpailurus yagouaroundi) peers over a fallen tree
Super Rare....Super Important---The Rufous Tree Rat
I had this blog written and ready to publish last week, then we got some really exciting news. We identified one of the rarest mammals in Costa Rica on one of our cameras! How rare? We are likely one of about five sightings.
This may be the lowest recorded sighting of the arboreal Rufous Tree Rat at less than 2 meters above ground.
Short ears and black tail are just a few of the distinguishing characteristics of Diplomys labilis.
When I could not find the above rat in my field guide, I recalled that an arboreal rat had recently been discovered living in Costa Rica…I looked into a Tico Times story about Costa Rica's 250 mammal species . The Rufous Tree Rat was only discovered to be in Costa Rica in June of 2015. I sent images via email to the researcher mentioned, José Ramírez, with images of our buddy. Late Friday afternoon he confirmed, with 90% certainty and 100% enthusiasm, that it is indeed the Rufous Tree Rat. Here is his description of the finding Here is his description of the finding.
I was later contacted by Naturalist Jim Córdoba_Alfara, who actually photographed the Rufous Tree rat for the first time in Costa Rica at La Tarde Lodge on the Osa Peninsula. He confirmed our sighting and is including our project’s images in an upcoming paper about this understudied and poorly known rodent’s natural history. While called an arboreal or Tree Rat, the the Rufous Tree Rat and its close cousins are more closely related to guinea pigs and chinchillas of South America.(via Canopy Family Website)
Other New Visitors
While not a true Rainforest carnivore, the Coyote is doing well in Costa Rica
The other new visitor is none other than the wily Coyote. Despite having 15 camera traps throughout the forest it never appeared on any cameras. I just happened to see it run past one of the cabins so I set up a camera and it was a nearly a daily visitor. We also found some droppings and realized that it was probably feeding on iguanas or basilisk lizards. Jaguars, Pumas, and man are the coyotes only known predators in Costa Rica.
My what a big tail you have!
Mexican Mouse Opossum
One critter that we have suspected of being here is the Mexican Mouse Opossum. Well we finally got a good enough image to properly identify it. They are some of the smallest marsupials in the New World.
We were also visited by the Neotropical River Otter again. This time it was actually in the water and was probably looking for freshwater shrimp. Pollution and habitat loss are two factors that have led to the Otter's decline in the last few years. THESE VIDEOS ARE BETTER IF YOU MAXIMIZE YOUR SCREEN
The other rare mammal that we saw was the Greater Grison. These small mustelids (Weasel Family) run around the forest and are rarely seen by people. We are catching more of them on camera traps. We were fortunate to have a short video and a nice clear picture of one.
A Good Mother
It has also been a few years since we have captured good images/video of an Ocelot and her cub. From October through our last visit in March, we saw them on a regular basis in all parts of the forest. I compiled a short clip of their wanderings.
The young ocelot caught perhaps her first mouse!
It was just a matter of time...
When we started this project years ago, Aida told us that it was not
uncommon to see naked people out in the woods. Sure enough, we got
several video clips of an amorous encounter of this gentleman and his lady friend!
Up the creek.
Eleanor and Jimmy cross the river after we set two cameras in a remote location.
We teamed up with Osa Conservation for the largest
Camera Trap project in Central America. They created a grid with 120
squares(240 cameras, 1,920 AA batteries) over the Osa Region of the Golfo Dulce. Each Square has two
opposing cameras. The study will run for 90 days.
Finca Green Eight(Ocho Verde) represented by the purple squares in the red oval.
The data collected will
assess the health of the endangered Jaguar population, their prey, and
their activity in vital corridors throughout the regions of Costa Rica.
We (OchoVerde) were responsible for 5 squares(10 cameras). Exciting news will be
coming from this research over the coming months. Here is the link about
what we’ve done so far .Click here to learn more about this amazing project.
Wireless Cameras Update
Our five wireless cameras continue to send us email images from over 3000 miles away. Of course, you can follow along on the Zoological Society of London's Instant Wild Page. Or better yet, sponsor your own wireless camera in Costa Rica and get these remarkable animals send directly to you. EMAIL ME if you would like to do this!
We have also been working with Osa Conservation for almost two years to get wireless cameras working out in the Osa Peninsula near Corcovado National park. They finally received a wireless network out there. I was apparently able to crack the code in order to get their network up and running. We had some great help from a new wireless camera company called Barn Owl. It seems as if it is only matter of time before we get images of a Jaguar!
Diquís Spheres
Capuchin Monkey and an ancient sphere.
An ancient indigenous tribe called the Diquís were famous for their carved stone spheres. Nobody really knows how and why these were carved, but they were rolled up creeks to various places in Southern Costa Rica. Many have been removed for museums or stolen for private homes, there is even one rumored to be in a yard in Charleston...
We were presented with an opportunity to visit a site literally right down the road from Ocho Verde where several of these spheres are located. We placed a wireless camera on the property and mysteriously the 12 new lithium batteries died before one photo could be taken. I eventually moved it to another spot where it seems to be functioning. It is sending about 60% of its pictures.
I put one of our trusty white flash cameras down by the creek and got some outstanding images.
Mysterious Ocelot and a Mossy Sphere
What in the hell is it?
Our cameras take great pictures, but sometimes we just cannot figure out exactly what is going on. We have two cases that we would like to share here. The first is this strange apparent beam of light shooting across the frame. It could be an insect, but at 5:36 am it is pretty dark at this place.
Shutter speed is 1/122 of a second.
Whatever it is seems to be traveling very fast.
The second mystery image involved what I think is a rather large animal.
1:20am in the center right of frame.
Mystery animal for sure.
I would certainly say that it is dog sized, but I cannot figure out how or why it has those parallel lines running across its body and legs. I would guess camera malfunction, but they appear to be behind the leaves as well.
If you have a guess on that these are, please email me or leave a comment below. Thanks.
Bonus Time
As if this blog wasn't long enough...
Hognose Skunk on the trail of a mate.
Unidentified Bat flies over the Famous Rock
Ocelot on Log via the wireless camera.
In the one that got away category...It would have been a beautiful Jaguarundi shot!
Supporting us.
Those of you that wish to support our efforts can do so in several ways. You can always send us a contribution via snail mail or though PAYPAL.
You can always support us by subscribing, watching, and sharing our videos on YouTube. For evry thousand vies, we get a few pennies and this does add up over the years.
Sooooo…..if you could subscribe to our channel and share our videos it would be great! Here is a handy button. It is that easy!
The Kinkajou, an occasional visitor to out camera testing area.
I'm tired of that Damn Snake! so let's get on with some pictures! We
have just returned from Costa Rica. The project is active and is
continuing to produce positive results. Animal populations continue to
be sustained. We even got a first real glimpse of a jaguarundi with her kitten.
A Jaguarundi kitten towers over it's mother.
Some of the cameras fared well despite that over 6 feet of rain fell in a 30 day time at the end of November. For
the first time, we did not see any trespassers hunting on the land. We
did see plenty of dogs, which cause chaos in the forest.
Local dog harasses an agouti within the same minute.
We are up to 4 working wireless cameras. As far as we know, we are still the only
project with wireless cameras in Costa Rica. Movistar, our cell
service provider, has been instrumental in helping us maintain
connectivity. We brought the cameras and they had the technology, but
we had to merge the two, a first for this multi-national company.
Back in August HCO, the company who sells the wireless cameras that we use, offered up a contest on Facebook and we won!
We won a Camera!
The cameras email us images in minutes. The images that we receive are much lower quality(resolution) than what is recorded to the card. Here are side by side examples:
Low resolution email image of Coati.
Better resolution of the same image downloaded from the SD card.
We have inspired at least six other property owners to use camera traps. So our project is much more far reaching than we ever expected. In
early January, I was asked by a friend to set up some cameras on an old
road up on the mountain behind Golfito. The first time we checked the
camera we got a male Puma image. We continued to see
more of him regularly for the next three weeks. We also discovered Puma
droppings or scat which were given to mammalogists from the Phoenix Zoo. This will shed light on the cat's dietary information from fur analysis.
Our cameras got a Puma only 3 miles from our property.
As
far as we know, this is the first photo evidence of a Puma seen in this
vicinity in a long time. There was also a documented report and video
of a Puma crossing the Coto River just South of Golfito. Our place, Ocho Verde is just 5km or 3 miles from each location. This
is important as we try to determine if we have a big cat corridor from
the Golfo Dulce Rainforest Reserve into the wilder mountains of Pavones
and into northwestern Panama. Cat corridors are important for genetic
diversity and healthy populations. Other than a fortunate sighting, our
camera traps will certainly be key in this determination.
This seems like a logical path for big cats
We can always use assistance with our project as there are constant financial burdens such as batteries, data plans, memory cards, camera repairs, etc. If you would like to offer further help, please use PAYPAL https://www.paypal.com/us/homewith the email address OchoVerde@gmail.com, or contact us directly at the same email address.
No brand was spared from the rain damage.
We have a remarkable support staff in the US that enables us to spend time on our project. Observant neighbors, reliable cat feeders, and an expert parrot watcher to name a few. We are always grateful for their help!
See you soon --Thanks--Frank If you have stuck around this long...here is funny video from our cameras!
In the enire six weeks we were there, we saw 2 snakes and no fer-de-lances!
Let me start by saying that I like snakes. I don't exaggerate size or aggression. I'm not afraid of them. In college I had an Eastern Coral snake. I picked up Copperheads and moved Cottonmouths and big rattlers. Venomous snakes deserve my respect and distance. I have scolded many people (friends and strangers alike) for killing non venomous snakes on several occasions. I have never purposely killed or wanted to kill any snake...until the day of this encounter.
OK. It was a Friday afternoon(July 8, 2016).
The camera was finally loaded with batteries, sim chip and memory card. It was finally working perfectly, sending email images within 2 minutes of taking a picture. It was in the small backpack heading up the mountain into the forest. I was going to the camera location called “Quebrada”(ravine). A creek had caused a small ravine over which a tree had fallen. The place had recently been a good spot for a camera trap. The trail was well defined (steep slopes, up and down on each side) caused animals to follow the path or cross the ravine on the tree trunk.
Most of the time animals choose the tree bridge to cross the Quebrada
A male Curassow follows the alternate path.
The above camera(Covert), took some great pictures, but had failed over the previous months. I decided that this was a perfect time to replace the Covert with a new Spartan wireless camera.
The walk had been easy and uneventful. I was in a semi hurry as to get back home in time for a quick rest and a shower. We would head to Banana Bay Marina for the happy hour which is our custom on Friday afternoons at five-ish. I strapped the camera to the tree and and looked across the ravine. There were a few plants growing that needed to be chopped so the motion sensor eye would not be tricked and accidentally triggered by rogue breezes. I also wanted to test the range and orientation of the new camera's placement before I left.
Casual Friday. Here I am on the way back to clear vegetation and test the orientation of the camera.
I left my knapsack with phone, water etc at the base of the
tree which held the camera. I crossed over the quebrada with a steep
uphill on my right and the steep downward slope on my left. As I got to
my destination(the far end of the log), I heard my walkie talkie go
off, my wife Kate was asking a question. I started to fiddle with the walkie then began answer her question. Suddenly, behind me, to
my right, slightly up the hill I heard a ruckus in the leaves. As I spun around, I saw a huge Fer-de-lance/Terciopelo, large head raised, mouth agape,
fangs prominent twisting and lunging towards me down the slope with full momentum. The snake, from it's elevated position, could easily have struck my leg, thigh, or waist. My 10 inch boots were of no help to me in my position. Fascinated by snakes, especially a large individual
such as this, after 4-5 quick paces I slowed to watch and observe. The snake
would have none of that. It reached the level trail and and continued after
me…mouth agape body flailing barely touching ground as it advanced
towards me. The damn snake was trying to kill me! My desire to observe vanished. It was fight or flight. I had a
machete, but it would have been no match for a fast twitch beast such as
this. My only hope was to out run it. Running in the jungle in never a good idea especially with a machete. At home I run on streets, not paths with steep crumbling edges. I wear light running shoes not awkward rubber boots. I never run with a 20 inch machete.
The walkie talkie went off
again with Kate asking her question. I answered bluntly and I sounded panicked, which she picked up on. I slowed my retreat to realize the predator had
stopped somewhere along the trail. Whew. I stared at the trail 2 feet
from me, then 3 feet, then 5 feet, then 9 feet etc until I saw my orange knapsack
waiting for me beside the tree with the camera. I had to go past that damn snake again.
Seeing a snake of this size and ferocity is frightful enough, but knowing it is very near and not seeing it was almost paralyzing.
14 Minutes after the snake encounter, I had almost made it back to the camera.
I took my rusty dull machete, felled a rainforest sapling, trimmed the tiny branches until I had a 7 foot stick. I began sweeping it over the uphill on my left the level trail, and the right downward slope. All the while I was hoping to alarm my nemesis again and to identify its whereabouts. 14 minutes of ‘sweeping’ passed as I made it to the rocky ravine. As I hopped over, my walkie-talkie fell from my belt onto the bare rock creek bed.
Yikes..My Walkie Talkie in a shadowy danger zone.
I had to reach for it near several rocky snake hiding places. The grab was successful. Still shaky, I realigned the camera and grabbed my backpack. Of course, then I had to cross the quebrada and go right past the irate serpent again. Stick in hand, I once more tried to scare it out of hiding. One step..then two steps then 4 then 8 and more until I had made it past the Terceopelo a fourth time. It had vanished or became docile to animals bigger than itself as is the norm. I checked in on the walkie and had an uneventful 10 minute walk back poking over every log along the way with the machete. I started to wonder, "Did all this really happen...to me?" Yes, it did. I felt like a guy who survived a late night knife assault in a silent dark alley: terrified but relieved.
Despite my safe return, story of fear and then triumph, the damn snake scared me. I now wonder what is under the sofa, inside a dark cabinet, around the driver side tires as I step into the car. These are all places that a Fer-de-lance could be even though I fully know it is quite unlikely. This Friday in the woods changed me, possibly forever.
For the first time in my life, I wanted a snake to be killed. This felt strange. Kate and I and others, including our dog walk the trail several times a week. This was absolutely not the place for a hyper aggressive highly venomous snake to be.
I recounted my tale with permanent area residents over the next few days. None had ever encountered such aggression from an undisturbed snake. Theories abounded such as mating season, young protection, recent kill of prey animal, shedding time, none of it made any real sense to me. A snake this aggressive that is living in a healthy forest of large mammals would litter the forest with their bodies or be eaten or killed by one of its predators. I had written the above narrative a few days after my encounter and initially planned to end it there.
There must be more...
Eventually, I downloaded the images from the camera and began to wonder: Can I see the damn snake? YES... I could see it! The picture that was triggered before, shows a thin line up the hill which was my aggressive Terciopelo. See for yourself:
Snake Present
14 minutes of Hell later, the snake is missing.
Tough to see much...I know. Fer-de lances are notorious for having excellent camouflage, so I had to zoom in on the following part of the 'before' picture:
Here is the close up:
See it?
So you see, the head is up the slope and the tail likely extends a ways towards the end of the fallen tree well out of frame. While the extreme zoom from a long way gives no scale for size. The apparent length in frame is consistent the the nearly hand sized open mouth the snake showed me as it sprung up from the leaves and vegetation.
Here is what likely happened:
X marks where the snake was probably initially coiled...waiting.
Initially, I passed over or near the snake near the end of the tree on my way to set up the camera. This is a perfect place for a snake to coil and await prey. Perhaps I startled it and caused it to ascend the hill. When I went back to clear the vegetation I got the call on the walkie. Instead of paying attention to where I stepped, I was pulling the walkie from my belt and attempting to answer. I may have brushed or perhaps stepped on the back end if the Fer-de-lance as it extended onto the trail to the base of the fallen tree. At the time, that it became irritated enough to 'attack with mouth open', it doubled over itself and easily came down to the side of the trail. If I was on it's tail it certainly almost had to come at me. This apparently can explain the violent aggression. I still don't know why it continued after me when I was 7-8 feet away or why it followed me down the trail 3 meters or so after I was no longer a threat.
Furthermore, I had to pass by the snake two more times after the initial melee. Both times the snake was invisible or gone, meaning that in the four times we crossed paths, only one was an aggressive encounter, probably initiated on my behalf. When I understood all of this, I lost my desire for its death. It was just a natural reaction after all.
Very true words!
July in Costa Rica is part of the wet season. Heavy rains and cooler temperatures cause snakes to move around a bit more than in the dry season. However, this July, on the second day of our trip, this Terceopelo was the only one we encountered for the full 25 days of our visit. That is unusual!
Coming full circle...I walked past that spot 15 more time at least over the next few weeks. I kept a wary eye for my friend, but he was gone or never showed himself. So I'll let him peacefully eat all the rats in the forest and we will agree to keep our distance from each other through our new found mutual understanding.
I made the GIFs in this blog from a Discovery Channel show about some of the snakes in Southern Costa Rica. It is worth a watch in its entirety. Only the last part is about the Terciopelo and I used this as it shows the correct size of snake that I encountered. Start at the 31:13 minute mark to see the Fer-de-lance.
******NEW****** If you would like to read about more snakes in Costa Rica, check out our latest entry at Snakes of Costa Rica update
