Costa Rica is known globally for its biodiversity, the natural and raw beauty contained in its small territory has attracted tourists, scientists, photographers, etc. However, and as much as Costa Rica continues to have vibrant nature and much of its territory is protected, it is not exempt of threats; contamination, logging, illegal hunting etc. activities which jeopardize the future of many species.

According to the Costa Rica’s National Institute of Biodiversity (INBIO), saying that a species is extinct is a relative statement, “first there must be clarity on whether it is an local scale extinction, national, regional or global; it is also necessary that a long period of time goes by (about 50 years) without seeing the species and of course we have to have ample knowledge of it (it’s behavior, distribution, etc.)”.

The extinction of species is a natural phenomenon , in Costa Rica we have some species which are locally extinct, for example the “Sapo Dorado” (Golden Frog) which was endemic of the area of Monteverde; one of the theories in relation to the disappearing of this amphibian has to do with global warming, which was worsen by the effect of deforestation in the areas nearby the Biological Reserve of Monteverde which caused a decrease in humidity and therefore it had a negative effect in the reproduction of the Golden Frog. The group of amphibians is actually the one with a higher percentage of threatened species (45%) and also the largest amount of endemic species (20%) according to INBIO.

Mammals, on the other hand, have the largest number of species in danger of extinction (5.5%), among these: the manatees, the jaguar, oncilla cat, the tapir, the squirrel monkey, and the giant anteater, this last one is the most threatened in all Central America, the last time it was seen was in 1989 in the Braulio Carrillo National Park.

When it comes to birds, the Harpy Eagle has not been seen in Costa Rican territory for several years, but nests have been spotted in Panama which gives hopes of the survival of this bird. Green Macaws are also part of the birds listed as an endangered species.

Reptiles: different species of sea turtles, the boa snake and the American crocodile are also in danger of disappearing.

The contamination of rivers is hurting the general population of fresh water fishes (135 species).
25% of Costa Rican fauna is listed as rare species and a large percentage of total fauna is considered vulnerable.

The disappearance of any animal whether that is an insect or a large mammal carries big consequences to the ecosystems, for example the tapir helps disperse seeds along with other fruit-eating animals; in an article published by ENSIA, Costa Rican biologist Esteban Brenes who started the Nai Conservation, (Nai stands for Tapir in indigenous BriBri language), talks about research that links the Tapirs of Costa Rica with climate change, as the big trees relay on big fruit-eating animals to disperse those seeds; if the tapirs disappear it will affect the tropical forests and therefore the forest’s ability to store carbon.

All efforts being made by Costa Rican authorities help protect the valuable flora and fauna of Costa Rica, but at the end it also depends on a change of mentality by the general population that needs to learn to help in the protection of the environment.

Not all is bad news; according to an article in the Daily Mail the British Paignton Zoo has found a way of breeding the tiny lemur leaf frog which is also endangered in Costa Rica and Panama, by recreating artificial rain storms to mimic their rainforest environment.

Wouldn’t it be easier to protect these species though?