poison dart frog pics and video from my finca in golfito, costa rica

[Gato Moteado]

i just recently purchased some more rain forest here in costa rica...about 25-30 acres not far from golfito near the pacific coast across the bay from the osa peninsula. the place is teeming with biodiversity. i just spent the last ten days there, cutting trails and watching the wildlife. here is a video i took just before leaving there this morning...it's a golfo dulce poison dart frog (Phyllobates vittatus) with seven tadpoles clinging to its back:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mthj-sgcCjk

here are some still shots i took:
http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/Phyllobatesvittatus02.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/Phyllobatesvittatus03.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com.nyud.net:8090/albums/g138/GatoMoteado/Phyllobatesvittatus05.jpg

[pitohui]

1. oh that's the cutest thing i ever did see

weren't you afraid to hold him? i'm a little afraid of these dart frogs

[Gato Moteado]

2. i think we have a total of 5 species of poison dart frogs in costa rica....

3 are dendrobates and 2 are phyllobates. none of the costa rican species are really that toxic. the really toxic ones are in ecuador and peru.

that said, i wouldn't eat one. you can handle them...just wash your hands before touching your eyes or mouth and you won't have any problems.

[GOPisEvil]

3. Dude, that's awesome!

Great pictures again! :thumbsup:

[Gato Moteado]

6. dude...when are you coming down here????

i just bought this awesome property in golfito. we put some nice trails in and more are going in soon. i saw three species of monkeys on the property in one day. the best was when the white faced cappuchins came close to check us out and then started shaking the trees and throwing branches at us. there are some nice waterfalls on the property as well and plenty of springs with delicious, clean water for drinking.

[uppityperson]

4. Very cute but I've a question for you.

Are you really supposed to pick up POISON dart frogs?

[Gato Moteado]

8. well...we all do things we're not supposed to do

...but, anyway, it's not dangerous to handle the costa rican species as long as you wash your hands afterwards.

[uppityperson]

9. Nice frogs, thanks.

[Gato Moteado]

18. glad you liked the pics.....

....more frog pics to come in the future.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

5. I always look forward to your posts...

Thank you for sharing the beauty of your part of the world with me! :loveya:

[Gato Moteado]

7. hey....there are anteaters on the property too!

hopefully i'll see one soon and shoot a video for ya!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. Wonderful!

I can't wait! :bounce:

[diamidue]

11. How lucky you are!

I remember being guided thru a portion of a rainforest there and seeing a couple of those. I've never seen one with the tadpoles tho. That's awesome! One thing that just blew me away in the forest were these plants (I don't remember the name) that if you touched them, they played dead. They just wilted and lay there for a while and then perked back up. Do you live in Costa Rica? And are you buying the land for yourself or for a group?

[Gato Moteado]

12. the plants you described sound like mimosas of some sort.....

...and i am buying land for myself because i love the rainforest! soon, i'll hopefully be living in the middle of one of my fincas.

[diamidue]

14. I looked up "mimosa" and I think you are right.

Thanks. I've been trying for so long to learn what those plants were called. Not to be too nosey, but how will you support yourself on your finca? Are you retired? Independently wealthy? ;o) (I'm totally jealous).

[Gato Moteado]

15. could have been a sensitive plant which is a mimosa....

mimosa pudica:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_plant

how will i support myself? good question. i'm not wealthy. i was able to buy the fincas i have because i sold my house in austin, tx 2.5 years ago. the money i got out of the house went into land down here. i have a day job with a US company that i'm able to do from costa rica so i'm able to pay bills and eat. my dream is to have an ecotourist business on one of the fincas....maybe some small cabins for a jungle bed and breakfast. additionally, i plan to grow organic vanilla. right now i have about an acre of organic cacao but when the trees produce the fruit the monkeys usually get most of it. it's hard to get mad at the little mancitos though...i'd rather have no cacao and lots of healthy monkeys than lots of cacao and no monkeys.

to tell you the truth, i'd rather be poor and living in the rainforest than rich and being part of the rat race in the concrete jungle back in los estados. been there, done that (not the rich part, just the rat race part).

if i do the bed and breakfast thing, i'll try to hire GOPisEvil to be the chef. he can scare the monkeys away from the crops too.

[diamidue]

17. Fantastic!

I love how you are following your dream. Just let me know when you get your bed & breakfast thing going and we'll come down and be your first customers.

Good luck!

[Gato Moteado]

19. awesome! it's a deal.

you'd love it down here so much you wouldn't want to leave.

[zanne]

13. He looks so tiny in the video...

He's beautiful; kind of resembles a hot pepper, don't you think?

[Gato Moteado]

16. yeah, they're pretty small

but little jewels.

[YankeyMCC]

20. Very cool

And good on you. I gathered you lived in Costa Rica of course but you purchased "more" rainforest? Are you purchasing land as a means of conserving it and the life on it?

If so that's fracking fantastic! Thank you.

[Gato Moteado]

21. yeah, i have no intention of destroying any rainforest

money burns a hole in my pocket, so down here when i get a few bucks (or few thousand) i buy land. that's why i never have money.

i'm a rainforest wildlife freak. i will build small cabins on my properties so i have places to stay and possibly start an ecotourism biz. aside from that, i'll continue to remove invasive non-native trees and replace them with native hardwoods and keep the poachers away.

[YankeyMCC]

22. "...why i never have money."

Maybe you do find yourself without much money but you are a wealthy man in much more important ways.

Maybe someday I can come down and stay in one of your huts when you get the ecotourism biz going! :)

I'm more of a Northern Woods kinda guy (I want to retire to Maine) but your pix of Costa Rica are beautiful.