The Costa Rica Amphibian Research Center

When I was talking to Edgardo about my plans to visit Costa Rica, he quickly offered up a suggestion. "If you're going to Limón you should go visit my friend Brian. He has an Amphibian Center there, and he really loves frogs."

I did some research on Brian and his Costa Rica Amphibian Research Center (C.R.A.R.C.) and quickly he discovered that he didn't just love frogs. He was a genuine amphibian genius, and a true naturalist with a strong interest in fish, reptiles, birds, and plants as well. So visiting him became my mission while in Costa Rica. 

Soon after Edgardo mentioned him, a couple days later some friends sent me a link w with a clip from the today show discussing a new species of frog discovered in Costa Rica that looked like Kermit. Brian was responsible for discovering it.

The more I learned about Brian, the more excited I became to visit him. He and his wife have found over 50 species of amphibians on the reserve where they live, and I wanted to see as many as possible.

I sent Brian an email, and I made arrangements to stay there on Tuesday, April 28. Brian lives on a large plot of land in the Central Caribbean highlands, one of the most biodiverse areas for amphibians in the entire country, and arguably in the world.

The plan was for me to go out with Brian on a personal guided night hike on his property, searching for amphibians and any other cool critters we may come across. Brian also runs a small lab where he keeps a handful of species in captivity, most notably moss salamanders from the genus,  Nototriton. All eight species within this genus are native to Costa Rica. As Brian would later tell me, he and his wife are the only living people that have seen all eight in the wild. Anyhow, I was obviously looking forward to checking this lab out and comparing it to our operation at EVACC.

To get to Brian's property, I had to explain about a million times that I was going to Siquirres... a town who's name was impossible to master. I kept saying "Si quierres" which means "If you want" in Spanish. So the conversation at about 3 different bus terminals went something like this, translated.

"Where do you want to go?" 

"If you want" 

"Huh??"

"Ifff you... want" 

Puzzled look. 

"S-I-Q-U-I-R-R-...

"Ahh- Siquives" 

"Siii. Por favor."

Eventually I got off the bus in Siquirres, and Brian met me at the bus station. He is a straight shooting guy, with a casual demeanor that belies his incredible intelligence and passion for the natural world.  While we drove up the windy mountain road leaving If you want behind, Brian began to calmly rattle off facts about the geology and climate of this region. He explained that this particular week had been unusually hot, and dry. Normally the highlands where he lives receives up to 6 meters of rain a year! This makes a week without rain extremely rare. Despite the fact that it was unusually dry, which is not the best time to see amphibians, he assured me we would still see plenty.

Arriving at the reserve, he showed me inside the simple yet luxurious guesthouse where I would be spending the night. Well, the few hours of the night left after we finished our hike.

The first thing Brian showed me was his captive lab, since it was right next to the guesthouse. In a large open air concrete building with a tin roof and plastic panels that let in plenty of sunlight, he showed me a variety of terrariums filled with various species of poison dart frogs, salamanders, and even a few aquariums with baby clown fish. A little side project that his wife is working on, he told me.

Outside there was a greenhouse of sorts, with pitcher plants and various other tropical species spread around on metal shelves. On the floor there were 6 small buckets containing overripe pineapple pieces. Fruit flies buzzed excitedly around each bucket. Frog food. This is a stark contrast to the fruit flies we raise, which live their entire lives from egg to adult sealed in a plastic container. He showed me how he collects them using a net, then tossed them in a small cup and banged the cup against his hand, stunning the flies so they would crawl instead of fly making them easier for the frogs to eat. There were at least three different species of flies in the cup. A healthy part of the frogs' balanced breakfast.

I rattled off questions as fast as I could, eager to learn about all the success Brian was having here with breeding these amphibians. I quickly learned that Brian's perspective and purpose for keeping animals in captivity was in fact much different than our mission at EVACC.  Brian keeps mostly species that are not endangered, using captivity as a tool to learn more about their natural behaviors in the wild, where observing their habits can be quite tricky.

As we chatted, he explained how he believes in in situ conservation first & foremost, which means working to help frogs while they are still in the wild, by putting out buckets for them to lay their eggs in, creating pond habitats, etc.

He opened my eyes to other things as well... such as how incredibly arbitrary the conservation status of species listed on the IUCN can be. "It's really just a bunch of people sitting around a table making decisions based on the data we have from previous sightings," he clarified. He has personally been responsible for delisting quite a few species here in Costa Rica, especially those that are found in the highlands. Because their habitat is so difficult to access, many people assume they are rare. But they are still out there, he informed me, and many of them are thriving. This was a nice change of perspective from all the doom and gloom that is so common in the Amphibian world.

When I asked Brian about Chytrid, the deadly amphibian disease that is the primary reason the EVACC exists,  he nonchalantly replied, " Oh yea it's here." For Brian, finding a cure to chytrid is not his goal. Instead, he believes that increasing the numbers of the amphibians that are still around in the wild will help these animals to naturally combat this crisis. He let me know that you can see this sort of thing happening all throughout history - a population crashes, but a few individuals survive. With time, they slowly begin to return. Brian's goal is to give amphibians a boost in the wild primarily, rather than trying to save them in glass boxes. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous when I realized how simple and effective his strategy of using almost entirely natural materials has been. At EVACC anything brought in from outside must be thoroughly bleached and decontaminated to eliminate the risk of Chytrid. This makes introducing moss or delicate materials practically impossible. Here, Brian will just go out and collect more moss or plants from outside whenever necessary, never even bothering to think of Chytrid. Keeping amphibians in captivity is not his primary focus. "I'm a field guy," he declared. So into the field we went.

After I cooked a quick dinner in the guest house, Brian met me at 6 pm sharp and gave me a pair of boots and a flashlight. He instructed me to take off my headlamp, so as to avoid blinding him.  "I don't believe in headlamps," he reported. I found it a little strange, but I obeyed.

Within minutes of walking down the trail behind Brian's house we had spotted 4 or 5 different species. The resident one-eyed Leptodactylus savegei that hung out in the path, and scores of beautiful calling Agalchynis callidryas (red-eyed tree frog) and Dendropsophus ebraccatus (hourglass tree frog). This list went on. In fact, the list would eventually have over 25 different species of amphibians on it, most of them brand new to me. It was an incredible evening, and gaining a small window into Brian's mind was an experience I will never forget. His drive and passion for these animals is truly inspiring, his ability to spot frogs and identify them from a distance is unbelievable. He was patient with me when I needed to ask two or three times where exactly that frog across the pond was, and he always made sure I found it.

We took a few breaks and chatted while he shared his snacks with me. I learned so much about the land and the water here, the life cycles of these amphibians, the history behind who discovered them, what their Latin names mean, and that was only a small fraction of it. He pointed out other interesting creatures to me as well, showing me a cool invertebrate known as a velvet worm, which would shoot out a sticky goo like Spider-Man when he bothered it by rubbing it's backside. Fascinating!

We saw a variety of snakes as well, such as a coral snake and a few snail eating snakes with huge eyes. He told me about the various mammals that have been spotted on the property, including ocelots,  tapirs, and monkeys. I learned about how he found himself in Costa Rica and how he went about aquiring the land. "Never buy land from a newspaper," he advised. "If you see a piece of land you like, just start asking around and figure out who owns it and what they want for it. You'll find much better deals that way, before they have had time to think about what it is worth." I filed this away with all of the other pieces of useful information he'd given me that evening.

After all the buzz over the new "Kermit look alike" frog, (Hyalinobatrachium dianae) of course I had to ask Brian how it became such a big deal. He chuckled. "It's not my style," he revealed. "Those that know me know that." That didn't surprise me in the least. Brian seems like he has a lot more important things to do than spend time drawing comparisons to Kermit. He told me didn't even plan to bring the discovery to the attention to the presses, but one of his wife's friends works for a local paper and thought it would be neat to draw some attention to Costa Rica's amphibians. From there, another Costa Rican paper spread the story, and then the Daily News did a story on it... and Brian believes someone there in the states was responsible for drawing the Kermit comparison. Soon after that, the whole thing went viral. "We got over 200 emails in one day," he divulged. The president of Costa Rica called him up personally to congratulate him. He admitted that it was all a bit much for him, but in the end, he agreed it was nice because it raised awareness about how many frogs are still out there that we haven't found yet. That's the important part. Amphibians need all the help they can get.

On one of our snack breaks, I asked Brian for new batteries for my flashlight since it had started to become quite dim. This had caused my eyes to become rather tired, straining to find things and I noticed my eyes were beginning to shut more than I wanted them to. "You doing alright, not getting bored or anything?" Brian asked, obviously noticing. "Yeah I'm fine, but I think I need some new batteries" I replied, slightly embarrassed. The new batteries did the trick, and with the new light we trekked on for a few more hours.

By the time 2 am came around, we were just beginning to arrive back at the cabin. We had spent 8 hours walking through the woods, and I loved every second of it. Although there were the shameful moments when my eyes had begun to droop, I followed Brian's lead and used searching for animals as my caffeine. It had paid off, and I felt so thankful to have had this opportunity. If you are into wildlife, and especially if you are interested in amphibians... visiting Brian's center in Costa Rica is a MUST. I extend a huge Thank you to Brian for taking the time to teach me so much in a short period of time, and I look forward to visiting and learning more from him in the future!

Amphibian Species list

Allobates talamancae

Rhaebo haematiticus

Sachatamia albomaculata 

Teratohyla spinosa

Craugastor bransfordii

Craugastor crassidigitus

Craugastor fitzingeri 

Craugastor "rearki"

Pristimantis cerasinus 

Pristimantis ridens 

Dendrobates auratus

Oophaga pumilio

Phyllobates lugubris

Diasporus diastema

Agalchynis callidryas

Agalchynis lemur

Agalchynis spurrelli 

Cruziohyla calcarifer

Dendropsophus ebraccatus 

Duellmanohyla rufioculis

Hylosciritus palmeri 

Smilisca phaeota

Tlalocohyla loquax 

Leptodactylus savagei

Lithobates vaillanti

Lithobates warszewitschii 

Again, this was written on my phone so it lacks many of the frog photos that I took with my camera and I am only able to upload pics at the end. I will update as soon as possible. Peace ✌

The captive lab

 The amphibians of the reserve

Inside the guest house

Hourglass tree frog (Dendropsophus ebraccatus)

Amplexing pair of red-eyed tree frogs (Agalchynis callidryas)

Agalchynis spurrelli

ID pending on these snakes... 

Pura Vida en Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

In one word, Costa Rica is Lush. The ticos use 2 - Pura Vida. The Costa Rican version of Hakuna Matata, it means "pure life." Fitting for one of the greenest countries in the world. 

I'm in here in Costa Rica because I have to be, believe it or not. My 6 month tourist visa in Panama has come to an end, so I needed to leave the country to avoid a fine. Costa Rica was the easiest and cheapest option, plus I'd already purchased a bus ticket to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica way back in October for immigration purposes.

I used the bus ticket and found myself crossing a rickety wooden pedestrian bridge into a very different country. This small southern Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo is a warm welcome after so much time in the mountains of Panama.

The differences between Panama and Costa Rica are fascinating to me. Granted, I have only been in Costa Rica for a few days, and only 1 place so far, but after 6 months of learning the Panamanian way of life... I feel qualified to speak on the subject. There are pros and cons and just regular differences. 

1. CON: Costa Rica is (a lot) more expensive. This is something I knew ahead of time... but I didn't realize it would be this bad. It's almost twice as expensive as Panama. And panama isn't even that cheap. Plus they use a different currency, which makes everything a bit trickier to keep track of. PRO:  Their bills are beautiful. 

 An average meal is about $7 or $8.. or 4000 colones, at the starting price. The prices do not seem to reflect the fact that you are in Central America. Meanwhile in Panama, you can easily eat a solid meal for $3 and really shouldn't pay more than $5 unless you're splurging. This price hike is tough to stomach after such a long time w Panamanian prices. I feel like I'm getting ripped off, no matter what I'm buying. For this exact reason, many long term backpackers move through Costa Rica as quickly as possible, hoping to make it out before the money's all gone. But it is the second difference that gives them reason to stay.

2. PRO: Costa Rica is greener. Costa Rica has often been ranked amongst the top 10  "greenest" or environmentally friendly, countries in the world. But unlike many of the other "green" countries, most of which are in Europe (US wasn't even close) , Costa Rica is literally GREEN. The jungles teem with life, and they have been properly preserved... unlike many places in Panama unfortunately. 

In Puerto Viejo, you can walk along the beach and hear Howler monkeys howling and Toucans clamoring on. Much to my delight, Poison dart frogs can be found hopping around on the edge of dirt roads and along even well traveled paths. It feels alive, just as I imagine the first visitors to this central American paradise would have found it. Although today you will also find a throng of happy people, soaking up rays on the beach, surfing the waves, and searching for wildlife in the jungles. At times in the center of the small beach town, it feels almost like there are too many happy people, and I have used my rental bike to escape to quieter beaches, such as Punta Uva or Manzanilla only a few minutes right outside of town. If you are visiting this area, I would suggest the same. I'd also suggest staying in Pagalú hostel, a clean chill place with one of the nicest kitchens I have ever seen in a hostel.

In general here, good energy is all around. The sides of the roads are actually not littered with trash like I have become so used to seeing in Panama. The beaches are clean and beautiful with a backdrop of palm trees, not buildings. Throughout town there are not just trash cans, but recycling bins! They are colorfully painted with the images of monkeys, toucans and frogs, the other residents of the neighborhood. And people are using them! :)

It all seems to make so much sense. The people have realized they make more money by leaving their natural surroundings they way they are, rather than profiting from clear cutting the forest and installing beach resorts or large agricultural plots. In this way, everyone is a bit richer since anyone can enjoy the wealth that nature has provided. 

3. Costa Ricans speak more English. I also knew this before coming, but I had no idea how much it would surprise me. In panama English is relatively rare, even in many parts of Panama City.  Meanwhile, in even the small towns of Costa Rica there are plenty that speak English. Even attempting to speak Spanish as a gringo is often met with an English response, absolutely unheard of in Panama.

Why? They know that English is the language of business.  They want your money, and they will talk you out of it in English. And it works. As a result, the cycle perpetuates and more visitors come that can't speak Spanish, and more Ticos learn English.  Personally I always prefer to speak in Spanish whenever possible,  and it almost always gets me a better deal, more respect and often insider knowledge. Yet it cannot be denied that English speaking locals makes the place more attractive to visit for many. Giving the ticos more money and most importantly- allowing them to avoid cutting down the lush jungles for "profit".

4. Panamanians seem to be more friendly, well at least the ones I have met. They're not yet jaded by a flood of gringos. However, the Ticos seem to do a better job when it comes to customer service. It also seems that Panamanians have done a better job of holding on to their native cultures, although unfortunately respecting nature does not seem to be part of the mainstream attitude as it is Costa Rica. If this respect could be created and spread, Panama and the world  could benefit emensely. Meanwhile, ticos in Puerto Viejo could do a better job of smiling and saying "Hola" or "Buenos días" , a difference I noticed almost immediately. These are the sorts of thoughts I have been pondering while laying on the beach for hours, hiking and mountain biking through the jungles, and snorkeling through coral reefs. Pura vida, my friends.

P.s. this post published on my phone in order to keep it timely. I will edit and update it with more photos, etc once I return to Panama and have access to my laptop. :)