Tag: Animals

Capuchins in Costa Rica: Monkey Antics and Natural Insecticides | January 03 2026, 20:55

In the photo — a white-shouldered capuchin. Took this pic in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica a week ago. At that moment, a troop of at least 40-50 monkeys stormed the beach: they were everywhere. Scrambling through bags, one started to pull out a towel but couldn’t manage it. They’ve already figured out how zippers work. Capuchins have rather scary sharp teeth, but it seems they don’t use them on people without reason.

While preparing this post, I decided to read up a bit about them. Turns out, they practice so-called “self-anointment” — they rub their fur with crushed ants or centipedes. The chemicals (like formic acid) released by these insects act as a potent insecticide, deterring parasites. Also, if a capuchin finds a lemon or wild onion, it will crush them into a pulp and thoroughly “perfume” itself with the juice.

Capuchins have very complex social bonds, which they maintain in very specific ways. They have “trust testing” rituals that might seem odd to a human. Two monkeys can sit and alternately stick their fingers deep under each other’s eyelids. This is the supreme form of trust — “I allow you to hurt me because I trust you.” Also, they can insert their fingers into each other’s nostrils and sit like that for a long time, entering a sort of trance. I’ll put links in the comments.

Dangerous Beauty: The Spiked Palms of Costa Rica’s Jungles | January 03 2026, 02:35

A very typical palm for Costa Rican jungles. Hugging one of these is a bad idea. These black spikes are incredibly sharp, hard, and can reach lengths of 10-15 centimeters. They are arranged in dense rings along the entire trunk. The most treacherous thing about these spikes is their fragility and dirt. If a person or animal runs into such a spike, the tip easily breaks off and remains deep in the wound. Since in the tropical climate these needles are home to millions of bacteria and fungi, a deep splinter almost guarantees a serious, painful, and slow-healing inflammation.

The density of the needles varies, sometimes the trunk is not visible behind them.

Such was the case in the series Pluribus.

Exploring Nature’s Design: How Insect Bites Transform into Palm Leaf Patterns | January 03 2026, 02:15

This is a palm leaf in the jungle about 60-70 centimeters wide. I stopped and wondered how it is that beetles chew through to create such a pattern.

I mean, when you think about it, the answer is obvious. They make one hole in a folded leaf, and then the leaf unfolds, creating many holes – like a paper snowflake. Upon contemplating this, I realized that palm leaves grow as a “cigar,” a rolled-up tube. I didn’t know this, but the very regular holes leave no other explanation.

But there is another thing – the holes are a bit large for a beetle or an ant. Obviously, if they were to eat a leaf that’s rolled up into a tube, they would end up biting through several layers at once, because if they ate the layers separately, the structure wouldn’t appear as regularly. But their mouths aren’t huge enough, of course, to eat such multi-layered leaves.

Apparently, an ant or beetle was eating the leaf while it was still small. Afterwards, the leaf grows evenly throughout and, obviously, the hole increases along with the leaf. The holes don’t heal; the leaf is alive and grows. A hole made by a beetle could initially be only a couple of millimeters in size, but then it grows to the size of a finger.

Exploring the Golden Carpenter Ants of Costa Rica | December 31 2025, 14:28

Golden Carpenter ants from my last trip to Costa Rica. They are huge, about 1.5cm. They build nests in wood. Unlike termites, they don’t eat the wood, they just make a home for themselves there. They don’t have stingers, but if disturbed too much, they can bite with their jaws (as seen in the photo on the left) and inject formic acid. Their distinctive feature is a golden abdomen. I’ll write about other notable leaf-cutter ants next time, half of my phone is full of them.

Exploring the Monkey Species of Costa Rica’s Forests | December 29 2025, 22:47

In the forests of Costa Rica, several species of monkeys were encountered. The most interesting are the coatis. They live quite high up, but the trail also went up the mountain slope

Night Encounter with the Fer De Lance: Survival Against the Jungle’s Deadliest Snake | December 29 2025, 18:06

Last night, I encountered the most dangerous, most venomous snake in the jungle – Fer De Lance (Bothrops asper) on a path. Generally, local clinics have antivenom and with it, the mortality rate drops to zero, but it’s better not to test it – the venom causes rapid necrosis and disrupts blood clotting. It also has a built-in night vision camera in its head. The system is so sensitive that the snake can detect a temperature difference of just 0.003 °C. This helps it hunt warm-blooded rodents and birds at night, when visual sight is limited.

It’s also super fast. Four and a half meters per second. That’s faster than you can blink. Indeed, if you’re not sitting right in front of its nose, there’s enough time for it to switch to a combat position, allowing you to jump away – so I managed to get by from behind.

Wild Costa Rican Peccaries: My Unexpected Encounter | December 29 2025, 04:21

A wild Costa Rican boar, as part of a small herd, mistook me for one of its own and let me take its pictures. Strictly speaking, it’s not exactly a boar—it’s a peccary. Half of my phone is filled with these little grunters.