By Gloriana Chaverri, Ph.D. Professor Universidad de Costa Rica   We have all heard about the different ways of attracting birds to our backyard. For example, people hang ripe bananas, provide plants with colorful flowers that are visited by hummingbirds, or place feeders with seeds. However, few people know how to attract bats into their backyards, and fewer yet would wish to given their bad reputation as blood-sucking elusive creatures. Osa Conservation, together with Fundación Universidad de Golfito, is using bat boxes to lure fruit-eating bats into areas that are in need...

[caption id="attachment_5184" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Taken by Juan Carlos Cruz DíazJaguar: Track of Jaguar (Panthera onca) along the beach.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5186" align="aligncenter" width="218"] Taken by Juan Carlos Cruz Díaz.River Otter: Track of Neotropical River Otter (Lontra longicaudis) in River bank.[/caption] by: Juan Carlos Cruz Díaz When walking through the rain forest of Osa while appreciating its beauty, one rejoices to see a host of species that live there. It is common to see various birds singing and flying around, ants building highways in the forest, butterflies of different colors and shapes, and even...

By Pilar Bernal   The Education and Outreach Program is working with students from 10 schools in workshops on major ecosystems of the Osa Peninsula and the great biodiversity that each ecosystem houses. In the space of two lessons (90 minutes each), students learn about the characteristics and importance of the cloud forest, the flooded forest, the tropical rainforest, mangroves, and the marine ecosystem and how to identify each one by a set of representative species. In the coming months we will continue with workshops on climate change and waste management. On World...

[caption id="attachment_5060" align="alignnone" width="300"] The event poster.[/caption] By Jaime González Acosta The celebration of World Wetlands Day in the Wilderness Protected Térraba-Sierpe National Wetlands has been held for twenty-three years, and is one of the most continuous and stable events in the Osa Conservation Area. The event for 2013 began with activities in the central park of the Sierpa de Osa community, with a boat tour to follow. In the park, local high schools and the University of Costa Rica displayed the importance of conserving the wetlands and the challenges of global...

  [caption id="attachment_5047" align="alignnone" width="300"] Taken by Manuel Sanchez[/caption] By: Manuel Sanchez Turtle season is about to begin, and a new hatchery is under construction on Piro beach. This will help protect at least 120 nests that are presently endangered by the behavior of rivers, high tide and predation. With the help of volunteers like Jabirú group, the new hatchery is almost complete and we hope to start relocating nests in July and watching the first hatchlings emerge in early September. [caption id="attachment_5048" align="alignnone" width="300"] Taken by Manuel Sanchez Taken by Manuel Sanchez Taken...