Wildlife Abounds

Maddie Baldwin
Jan 24
2 min read

By:DeAnna

Well as some of you may have read from Lydia’s previous post (“Monkey Poo”), you may have an idea that we are in the jungle! Since returning to Costa Rica, from our whirlwind Christmas trip home, we have changed our location and are staying in the small beachside community of Punta Islita. This is where the jungle meets the ocean and we are right next to all the wildlife that jungle experience represents.

This is the view from our backyard. You can see the jungle and the ocean….incredible!

Being in the jungle also means that we have had the amazing opportunity to interact with a lot of wildlife. Here I will just list and show you a few:

Scorpions! Yes we have them! What is even more, both Lydia and myself have been stung! I was struck when I reached inside a beach bag that had been left outside. I didn’t see it (it was a large guy) and was quickly struck. Thankfully, Kyler (who was visiting) and Corey were able to kill it and I was totally fine. I had no reactions, it was just like a strong bee sting!

Lydia got stung from her bath towel when she wrapped herself up in it after a shower, not realizing there was a tiny baby scorpion that had been hanging onto the towel. It shocked her to say the least. She also was just fine, just surprised and felt again like a bee sting.

This bug guy, a non-venomous snake locally called a Mica snake, had been spotted a couple of times in our backyard. But one morning he had made himself at home up in our dining room (an outdoor palapa). We had to call the maintenance guys to have it removed. To say it was exciting is an understatement! He was relocated and we have not seen him again!

Our house is next door to a Scarlet Macaw sanctuary that rehabilitates and supports this beautiful species of bird. We see them daily and hear them often (they are so loud)! Maddie is actually volunteering at the center and it continues to be a great experience for her.