Wildlife Conservation Insights | Paso Pacifico Blog

International Day for Biological Diversity

Turtles, iguanas, and frogs! Oh my! Committed to biodiversity conservation, Paso Pacífico conducts a wide range of research to identify and understand the flora and fauna of the Paso del Istmo. We consider different elements of wildlife across the landscape: birds, bats, bugs, and herps (amphibians and reptiles). We're currently studying the Robber frog, the Painted Wood turtle, and the Five-keeled Spiny-tailed Iguana. Herp partners include the Turtle Conservancy, the...

New Bat Species for Nicaragua

Broad-eared Bat (Nyctinomops laticaudata) photo by Jose Gabriel Martinez Somoto Canyon in Northern Nicaragua photo by Jose Gabriel Martinez Last week, biologists Marlon Chavez and Jose Gabriel Martinez, documented the presence of a new bat species in Nicaragua. Our team netted the Broad-eared Bat (Nyctinomops laticaudata) in the Somoto Canyon in Northern Nicaragua. The IUCN Red List has more information about this species and its habitat range. Our bat conservation initiative,...

¡Viva la Tortuga!

As Andrew Revkin points out at the Dot Earth blog: The documentary chronicles how communities that once depended on sea turtle poaching and other activities depleting the region’s rich natural resources are now testing a new economic model, one built around fishing with turtle conservation in mind and tourism focused on the area’s extraordinary marine life. Following the lead of the fishermen who work Grupo Tortuguero and working with fishermen in...

Earth Day Clean-up at Laguna de Tiscapa

Saturday, April 21st, in cooperation with partner organizations FONARE, Recicla Nica, and Comite Ballena Azul, and with assistance from the Nicaraguan army, we set out to clean up 2500 feet of shore along Laguna de Tiscapa. A volcanic lagoon in Nicaragua's capital city, Laguna de Tiscapa has ecological, historical, and sentimental significance for many Managuans. Thirty years ago, you could see families relaxing in the lagoon and...

Report from the Field: Yellow-Naped Amazon Nests

Parrots require tall trees for nesting or large, mature trees which form natural cavities, where the parrots like to lay their eggs. Without suitable nesting sites, parrots don't nest. Look closely and you'll see one of two nesting Yellow-naped parrots guarding a nest opening. And the two newly hatched chicks he's protecting. This is one of twenty nests being protected by members of our incentive program. Yellow-naped parrots only have two eggs...

A celebrar la Tierra, limpiando Tiscapa!

El sabado 21 de abril en cooperacion con el ejercito y otras organizaciones ambientalistas asi como ciudadanos volutarios nos dispusimos a realizar una limpieza en la Laguna de Tiscapa. La limpieza de 2,500 metros lineales de andenes y la recolección de 18 metros cúbicos de desechos sólidos fue el resultado del trabajo realizado por esta jornada ecologica. La laguna de Tiscapa en uno de los mantos acuiferos que embellece la...

What Are You Doing on the Ground?

Anyone who has spent time in Central America undoubtedly knows what howler monkeys sound like, but it can be difficult to spot them among the branches of the trees where they roost. Thanks to our camera traps, we "caught" this howler on one of the private reserves where we cooperate with the landowner to ensure forest connectivity. Howler monkeys are also known to be an arboreal species, meaning they spend...

From Turtle Harvest to Turtle Home

Over at One World One Ocean's blog, The Water Column, Sarah Bedolfe tells a story from Indonesia which will sound very familiar to Paso Pacífico's friends and followers: For generations, the island residents of Runduma, Indonesia have been harvesting sea turtle eggs. The egg harvest was a tradition... eggs were eaten as well as sold for about 1,000 rupiah (9 cents) each and used for community expenses–fixing a new water filtration system,...

Help Save Turtle Species!

Our partners at the Turtle Conservancy have been selected as a featured charity partner on CharitySub.org. They are raising money from their community of online donors in April to help support biodiversity. With over 800 species forced into extinction in the past 500 years, they are working hard to protect the most endangered turtles and tortoises and their habitats worldwide. Vote to support their project.

Fire in Masaya

photo of the crater at Masaya (this is NOT smoke from the current fire) We're watching the fire burn through the tropical dry forests near Volcano Masaya, where we work closely with park rangers to help visitors understand and appreciate Masaya's unique ecology. The fire in Masaya has burned through 1200 acres of woodlands and is still flaming, threatening the very ecosystems we're working to protect. Forest regeneration and restoration will...

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