Don’t Kill the Snakes!
The word “snake” often elicits a variety of responses in people ranging anywhere from, “Ewww! I’m afraid of snakes” to “Snakes are such beautiful animals.” Snakes, whether they be venomous or non, are often persecuted and deemed as evil creatures by our culture and associated folklore, as they don’t exactly give people the warm and fuzzys. Every year, thousands of snakes are killed due to habitat loss, disease or direct killing of individuals by humans that simply fear or misunderstand them. However, snakes are incredibly beneficial to humans,...
Read MoreBackyard Breeders
While the birds have been singing away in attempts to establish territories and attract potential mates, other species of spring breeders have been quietly courting and scoping out safe places to deposit eggs. The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) for example, is a common backyard breeder that often goes unheard and unseen during the breeding season. From March to mid-June, males will attempt to charm a female by performing an underwater dance, wiggling his foreclaws in her face and swimming around her until she accepts his persistence by sinking to the bottom of the water body. Sounds...
Read MoreRTPI Staff Teaches Litchfield High School Students in the Costa Rican Rainforest
Between February 24 and March 7 RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser and Director Twan Leenders traveled to the Costa Rican rainforest again to teach Connecticut high school students about the importance of rainforest conservation as part of the Forman School Rainforest Project. This unique hands-on biology course based out of the Forman School in Litchfield, but also catering to high school seniors and juniors of local public high schools, is currently in its 22nd year. Every year a group of 12-14 students travels to the remote (and difficult to reach) rainforest preserve Rara Avis, where they work...
Read MoreCrowned Tree-frog (Anotheca Spinosa)
RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser notes, “This years Reps and Amps team observed 58 species over the course of two weeks in Rara Avis Rainforest Reserve in Costa Rica and added a new species to the 22 year-old cumulative list. This is an impressive task when the list includes over 130 species. The Crowned Tree-frog (Anotheca Spinosa) was found six times during the population surveys, an impressive number for this very elusive species. This points to the continued upward trend of this populations stability in Rara Avis and the surrounding area.”
Read MoreRara Avis Rainforest Preserve
If you’re as tired of the cold as we are, here is something to look forward to that won’t take until spring: RTPI President & Executive Director Twan Leenders and Affiliate Sean Graesser are in the Rara Avis Rainforest Preserve in Costa Rica through the end of next week with students from the Forman School and from Wamogo Regional High School in Litchfield, CT. They’ll be hiking the trails (yes, this is actually a picture of a trail) in the extremely lush Costa Rican rainforest to study neotropical birds, amphibians, reptiles and other tropical critters. Expect updates...
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