By Pia Martin, DVM

Right after his surgery

Titi monkeys (saimiri oerstedii citrinellus) are small but very intelligent and dexterous.  They are unique to the Manuel Antonio area.

Last august, some kids were visiting Playa El Rey in the National Park and found a very young monkey on the ground, he was hurt and couldn’t move. They felt sorry for the little guy and carefully picked him up and put him in a box. They took him to MINAET not knowing what else to do. MINAET brought him to us. The little titi was about 6 months old and had a very serious fracture in his arm and another in his clavicle. He could have fallen from a very tall tree just when he was learning to move on his own.

These kids saved his life; he would have been eaten by a predator or would have died alone of hunger.

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Filed under: Kids Saving the Rainforest, María Pía Martín on April 2nd, 2010
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By Pia Martin DVM

Costa Rican national authorities along with the United States signed a symbiotic alliance in January to create the Energy Efficient Center (Centro de Energía Eficiente).

This center will promote research, development, and use of cleaner and more efficient energy that will allow this country to reach its objective of becoming carbon neutral by the year 2021. In other words, Costa Rica wants to mitigate the carbon that is created here.

“This is just the beginning. A committee of eight people will have to identify priorities and the best method to operate”, Gloria Villa, of the Energy Department at MINAET said. She is also very enthusiastic as it is an alliance with the University of Costa Rica (UCR), Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE).

The building to house the project will be located at the University of Costa Rica and the Dean of the University, Yamileth González, stated that this institution will reinforce research on more efficient energy but above all, it will teach the community what is learned.

“This center will also train professionals on efficient energy and clean technologies. Their experiences will help other countries in the region,” said Peter Brennan, in charge of business at the US embassy.

This idea was born last year in Trinidad & Tobago during the Cumbre de las Américas, when US president, Barack Obama, proposed the initiative. Then the regional countries applied with their own projects. “Costa Rica was chosen due to its leadership in environmental issues,” Brennan stated.

The US Department of Energy donated $100,000 as part of a Low Carbon Community Initiative in the Americas, the Presidential House said.

This is great news for Costa Rica, Kids Saving The Rainforest, and the environmental community!

Filed under: Kids Saving the Rainforest, María Pía Martín on February 24th, 2010
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There are just a few problems with raccoons living so close: they often trash houses, crawl spaces and gardens in their search for easy food and nesting sites. They can spread disease. They can get aggressive if they don’t get the food they expect or if they run into a pet. Avoid run-ins by keeping them away from your home.

First, meet the neighbors!
Raccoons are medium size mammals weighing about 13 to 18 lbs (6-8kgs). They are nocturnal and very intelligent. They are very agile, fast, and have five dexterous toes on each front foot. They are excellent runners, climbers, and swimmers making them formidable opponents.

However, they aren’t dangerous as long as they’re kept out of homes, not fed and not cornered.

Raccoons also can carry diseases that are dangerous to humans, as well as distemper which is infectious to dogs. Raccoon feces also contain parasites which are transmissible to pets and people, some are fatal.
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Filed under: Kids Saving the Rainforest, María Pía Martín on December 25th, 2009
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by María Pía Martín, DVM

The sloths are part of the Xenartha order which also includes anteaters and armadillos. This bizarre order is only found in Central and South America. They are different from all other animals in that they have an unusual lower back vertebrae and two vena cava (returns blood to the heart, the other mammals have only one).

Evolution

They are some of the most ancient mammals and have been on Earth for more than 60 million years ago. For example, they are so primitive that their reproductive and digestive tract open into a single chamber called cloaca, like birds and reptiles.

At the beginning, the Megatherium were 6 meters (20 feet) tall giant ground sloths.

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Filed under: Kids Saving the Rainforest, María Pía Martín on November 23rd, 2009
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