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.... Wanting to help in anyway I could, I spent a good portion of one day cleaning Guanacaste, Enterolobium cyclocarpum, seeds. These, of Costa Rica’s national tree, will be used in a reforestation project of OJOCHE. Janzen speculates that the species will be extinct except for in parks and gardens due to competition from grazing, grasses and cutting for fuel, posts and lumber.
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The grounds of EcoCentro Danaus occupy less than a hectare but because of the growth, it is easy to feel alone as if in a deep forest, except for the nicely constructed paths. There are a number of garden areas that include plants that are commonly used for landscaping, medicine, or food. They also have an herb garden underway. Most of the grounds are of natural growth; a forest recovering after being severely cut. Many of the plants are labeled in one fashion or another.
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.... The trail system is a large loop with smaller ones that branch off of that. Along the loop is a natural pond that is home to at least two caiman, Caiman crocodilus. These measured about four feet long.
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.... Other herps I observed near there included this basilisk, Basiliscus basiliscus, always sunning on the same log.
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.... A common skink (Mabuya unimarginata) and a Central American whiptail, Ameiva festiva, were also seen. Not as cooperative when having their pictures taken were a couple generations of boat-billed herons and other aquatic birds. A two-toed sloth and her baby were also in the area and could generally be found sleeping in the canopy.
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... EcoCentro Danaus discusses reptiles and amphibians in their programs. Besides the naturally occurring ones, they also have exhibits under construction that will house arrow-poison frogs. A small vivero for rearing them is closed to visitors.

In a ramada that also served as the introduction to the butterfly vivero were four aquariums, each with a different color morph of the eyelash viper, Bothreichus schlegelii. I managed to get a shot of three of them through the glass, but still hope to encounter one of these handsome creatures in the wild.

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