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- If you are building save as many trees as you can. You'll have the added bonus of keeping your home cooler and enhance its value.
- Have all tree limbs and branches professionally cut away from transformers and power lines.
- Insulate all lines or bury underground. Ask ICE (Costa Rica Electric Institute) to install insulator protectors around transformer leads, and guide wires to prevent monkeys and other wildlife from climbing up them and being electrocuted.
- Plant fruit and flowering trees such as almendro, balsa, papaya and Cortez Amarillo. These trees are not only necessary for the existence of the monkeys, but they will enrich your property and your life with their beauty.
- If you are in the market to buy real estate, think twice before you give your money to someone who has cleared out every tree in sight and carved out mini lots. Most of our local builders do try to leave a small footprint. We do unfortunately have a few developers who claim to be environmentalists but whose actions belie their words. Please take the time to analyze what they are doing rather than what they are saying.
For more information please go to Nosara Wildlife Rescue
This organization has made amazing strides in protecting and caring for injured animals.
You can make U.S. tax deductible donations through Friends of Nosara
Another thing you can do is support those who support the protection & care of our wildlife.
Please visit the Save the Howler Monkey Auction page.
Due in large part to these businesses this annual auction is a great success.
Please thank them with your patronage and let them know that you appreciate their contribution to this cause.
Nosara's Other Monkey - The White Faced
Occasionally seen in Nosara is the Capuchin, more commonly referred to as the White-faced monkey. I personally have never seen them in a troop here, usually they are single or with one or two others. There was one that was frequently seen traveling with a group of Howlers. They are intelligent rapid moving little scamps and are fun to watch. Here are photos of a couple I have seen here.Why the Monkeys Need Our Help
As is frequently the case, wherever man goes the wild animal population suffers and even disappears. Those of us who love Nosara are desperately trying to make this area an exception. Due to our encroachment the monkeys are losing the ability to get to their food source safely. Our monkeys are dying horrific deaths by electrocution because of the thoughtless cutting of their migratory trees. Others are forced to the ground in order to cross over to the next canopy, placing them in the paths of cars and dogs.It doesn't need to be this way. Most of us move here in great part for the area's natural beauty. All it really takes is some care and forethought on our part to prevent its destruction and save our wildlife. Here are a few things we can do:A Few Monkey Facts
Nosara is home of the Mantled Howler Monkey, one of five howler monkey species found in Central America. It is distinguished by the blond fur on its back. The average adult is about 20" long and weighs in at about 11 pounds. They are known to live at least 25 years in the wild and are one of the most tranquilo members of the monkey family.The Howlers diet consists of the leaves, flowers and fruit of dozens of different tree species. They forage by day, often starting before dawn.A Mantled Howler troop can number anywhere from 2 to 45 individuals. The troop's home ranges from 7 to 300 acres, yet the monkeys seldom travel more than about a mile a day.Females depart their natal troop at two or three years of age, integrating with a new troop when they mature sexually. Like the male Howler, the female hangs out on the fringes of the new troop until she can work her way in. She woos and then mates with a dominant male; thus securing his protection and the other troop members’ respect. She gives birth on average every one and a half to two years.A baby Howler is born with silver fur that turns golden within a few days. The fur then gradually darkens, reaching adult coloration by the time the youngster is about three months of age. Until the newborn is four or five months it is carried by its mother or even other members of the same troop.The Howler monkeys derive their name from their loud pulsating roars which last four or five seconds. These calls are frequently repeated several times, mainly by adult males, and are made to neighboring troops whom they are generally trying to avoid by intimidation. The howls can be heard several kilometers away, in fact I can hear them off in the distance as I write this.
Click a photo to enlarge
Click a photo to enlarge
Here is a video from the Nosara Wildlife Rescue. Be warned that some of the photos are heart breaking.
Our hope is that by viewing it you will be inspired to help the cause.
The Monkeys of Nosara
One of the biggest pleasures of living in Nosara is having the Howler Monkeys as our neighbors. I'll never forget the first time my husband and I visited Costa Rica and were awakened from our nap by the roar of a large male monkey just outside our hotel window. As soon as we got our bearings, and determined that we really had not been transported to Jurassic Park, we couldn't help but laugh. That was in 1994 and to this day I still smile upon awakening to that wonderful alarm clock!Of primary importance to us when choosing our home in Nosara was to be in an area where the trees had been protected. We wanted to make sure we were going to be able to enjoy our little neighbors company for years to come. These photos were taken from just outside our windows.I live in a beautiful place ... Nosara on the the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica
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Playas de Nosara Phone: 506-8339-1131
Phone: 506-8339-1131Costa Rica (from the U.S. dial 011 first)
(from the U.S. dial 011 first)Update: October of 2009 we were fortunate enough to have a troop of over a dozen white faces in our yard! I've added those photos.
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