The Quepos Bridge Club plays at 12 noon every Tuesday at Dos Locos Restaurant.
The Paca
By Lise Zersch
Living in Costa Rica brings unusual experiences and surprises, sometimes simply caused by the language barrier. Many phrases and words are not in the dictionary and can make your interpretation incorrect, which leads to my 
story about the Paca.
The PACA is in the Agoutidae Family, commonly known as the Tepezcuintle. It is large rodent-type animal that matures to about 9KG. It has become rare or extinct over much of the country due to habitat loss and hunting. Widely considered the best-tasting mammal in Costa Rica, it is the number one target of most hunters. It has been estimated that an average of, almost, 900 pacas per year have been killed in the past. Pacas are relatively easy to hunt since in pristine habitats they show little fear toward people, making it easy for hunters and dogs. They are slow to replenish reduced populations and are easily wiped out.
We became interested in the Paca because we had seen one on our property a few years ago. We asked our worker about the animal and he explained that it was a delicacy among Ticos. He boasted of hunting many during his younger years however, now they are scarce. We then had the idea of raising some and releasing them into the wild to help repopulate the forest.
This type of endeavor, we discovered, is not simple. We are well connected when it comes to all kinds of scientists. We seem to attract them like a magnate. We contacted a local biologists and discussed the options. Raising them in captivity is monitored by the MINAE and they have to be inoculated before being released into the wild because the domesticated Paca carries a virus that is dangerous to other wildlife.
Now, comes the funny part of my story. Last January, I took a short trip with my elderly parent to see the new Costanera Highway #34. We visited Playa Esterillos and stayed overnight at Monterey Del Mar. The next day we ventured out to see the crocodiles in Tarcoles. On the way, to my astonishment, I saw two consecutive signs advertising “Se Venden Pacas”. I was really excited and made a mental note to go back and visit these farms however, could not expect my Mom to stand around a farmyard looking at animals. She does not do well in the heat.
September 24th is Rolf’s B-day and I wanted to do a day trip. He has never seen the new highway and does not like to travel around much. He loves our small part of paradise and prefers hanging around here doing his woodworking. So, he agreed that he wanted to see the new highway. We left at 7AM, made our way down, slowly admiring the views and new things going on. Lovely highway, beautiful African Palm plantations and interesting people just doing their everyday things. Had brunch in Quepos, visited the used bookstore and headed further north towards Jaco.
When you are looking for something that you have seen once, you are not quite sure where it is and the road seems longer. Finally, 20 KM before Jaco, the signs for the Pacas were still there. My excitement was mounting. We drove in to this simply beautiful Finca with horses, Brahma cattle and donkeys. We parked and I asked one of the vaqueros (cowboy) with whom could I speak to about the Pacas. He headed off to find the boss and they brought us out to the back field and pointed. All I could see were small horses. Then I said, but where are the Tepezcuintle and he looked at me in a strange way. He knew what they were, however, said they did not have them. By then, all the other vaqueros were gathering around us. I explained that in English Tepezcuintle are called Pacas. Pacas here are small pack horses. Well, I guess this made their day. All of them were killing themselves laughing at the two weird Norte Americanos looking for the Tepezcuintle. Rolf always says: “Only in Costa Rica”. Pura Vida!!!
visitors since December 2009
