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Primary Forest Tour at Bosque del Cabo

December 31, 2009

The Primary Forest Tour is about a 4 hour long hike through primary rainforest of Bosque del Cabo's grounds. Again, this tour completely brought to life what I'd been reading in Tropical Nature.

Philip Davison was once again our tour guide. I thought I'd be smart and snap photos of everything, that would then jog my memory of the stories and interesting tidbits that Philip provided - because there were so many! What I ended up with was a lot of interesting photos that unfortunately do not jog my memory because I waited so long to write about them! I apologize in advance for the lack of information. Nonetheless...

heliconia

Spix's Disc-winged bats (Thyroptera tricolor) use the furled leaves of the heliconia to roost. They have been observed at Bosque, but we were not that fortunate.

cecropia

Whenever you see cecropia trees, take a good look - with binoculars if you can. This is where you're likely to find sloths (who eat the leaves and buds) and squirrel monkeys, various birds and some fruit-eating bats (who like to eat the tree's fruit). Azteca ants have a symbiotic relationship with cecropia, defending it against many herbivores.


gigantic leafcutter ant mound




Ant tidbits from previous posts:
  • Ants far outweigh humans in terms of biomass - in fact, in terms of biomass, they outweigh all animals!
  • Leafcutter ants don't actually eat the pieces of leaves that they carry into the underground chambers of their nest. They use the leaves to cultivate a fungus, and they eat the fungus. Also, they maintain a sort of compost heap outside of their underground nests - workers transport the waste to the heap then the heap-workers organize and shuffle the heap to aid decomposition.
Philip holding the stem of a large leaf devoured in a short time by leafcutter ants

monkey crossing

colorful new growth


prop roots

with spikes!

tree sap (whose use I forget)



This set-up was used by a nature photographer, who sat up there patiently to try and catch a few minutes of footage of a puma for a documentary, I believe. Many scientists use Bosque's grounds for their research, and it's a nature lover's dream for the ease of which animals can be observed.



don't run into this tree - it'll pierce you with some nasty bacteria



I believe this was the vine (above) where when you try and move your thumb and index finger down the stem, it's smooth, but when you move them up the stem, you can't. The vine uses this to climb up the trees.



another gigantic ant mound

an ant biting Philip

I didn't snap the picture of his bleeding finger afterwards - that's dedication!

another manner of tree sap (whose use I also forget)

attempting to cut down a tree with a pocketknife (kidding)

telling a story of an all-too-curious guest...

that got a bit too close to this animal hideout

demonstrating how the strangler fig (Matapalo) strangles its host tree

The Matapalo (which means "tree-killer") begins its life as an epiphyte (a plant that grows on other plants or objects) at the tops of trees. It then slowly grows its roots down the host tree - eventually into the ground - while also growing upward. It essentially ends up "strangling" the host tree, sometimes actually killing it, making the core of the strangler fig hollow, where the original tree had been. Many animals take up residence in this hollow core.

decaying base of a strangler fig


one day it will fall - precisely on a very well-hiked trail!

the towering Matapalo

walking tree

The last night we were at Bosque, we briefly met the guy who researches these "walking trees." They are said to move up to a meter each year, and they have a lifespan of 30 years! (Others say this is just a local legend.)

I forget what these are - I like the photo though

ants and their plants

refreshing!


I guess these were some sort of mushrooms growing on the tree. It appeared so otherworldly with the white outline on the edge.


example of secondary forest

A secondary forest is one that has been disturbed in some way and is in the process of regenerating.

Bosque del Cabo's tropical gardens

There's a funny story to these screened lightbulbs (below) that illuminate the suspension bridge at night. The staff was always having to replace the lightbulbs because they'd go missing. It was a mystery. Later it was discovered that mischievous monkeys were unscrewing the lightbulbs and then dropping them on the forest floor below! Thus the screen.


* * *

Philip's Blog - gorgeous photos and accounts of life at BDC

related posts:
Lapa Rios Osa Trail
The Disk-Winged Bats of Lapa Rios
Monteverde Cloud Forest


next post >> Bats of Bosque del Cabo
previous post << The Lowland Tropical Rainforest
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