Night Symphony

Chirp, creak, hum, buzz, screech.  Whoever said the forest is a quiet, peaceful place has never tried to fall asleep on BCI.  In a room enveloped by trees the raucous symphony playing outside our windows often makes sleep elusive.   As soon as the lights go out, the night swells with the music of a congregation of astonishing new voices.

Creeping from the forest’s silhouette, the night brings out a new cast of players.

Every inch of the forest is alive and the more intently I listen, the more life I hear.  Buzzing insects; screeching bats, tiny chirping tungara frogs; mammals rustling in the leaves on the forest floor; the whispered wing beats of night birds.  Even the robust hammering of rain pellets against my roof, and the ticks, snaps, and thuds of distant branches falling to the ground or on the roofs of buildings, fill the night with their steamy melody.

Of the 120 mammal species found on BCI, it’s the 72 species of bats that rule the night.

Everything moves.  Everything breathes.  Everything is animated with music and energy.  Listen long enough and the weary trekker, nestled in the cocoon of her bed, begins to appreciate the lullaby of the always-awake jungle symphony. 

- Katrina Macht

Night Hike

With our spotlight charged and ready, we headed out for a short night walk in the rainforest.  You see nocturnal animals at night that are not out during the day. It did not take long for Greg (our premier animal spotter and guide) to find a kinkajou sucking nectar from the flowers in a large balsa tree.

Kinkajou - Image source: www.bite.ca (Animal of the Week:Kinkajou)

There were not too many flowers on the tree, so the kinkajou did a lot of moving from one branch to the next. Look at the photo--I think kinkajous are so cute, but being nocturnal, they do not make good pets since they are awake when I want to sleep at night.

Bufo Toad

The kinkajou was not enough for our short hike, Greg also showed us a giant Bufo toad.  This toad was so large that I would definitely need 2 hands to hold it.  By the way, I did not hold it because I was not sure if it had poison glands in its skin that would cause a rash.  The toad prefers to come out at night because it might dry out in the hot daytime sun and it has fewer predators at night. 

Bat from BCI

And we still weren’t done seeing cool nocturnal animals!  When Greg shined the spotlight to look for animals, we saw dozens of bats flying through the beam of light.  No worries, though, there are 70 species of bats on this island and only one (vampire bat) will bite a human.  If you look carefully at this photo that scientist Rachel Page took, you will see a frog being caught by a frog-eating bat.

Tarantula out at night

Look at the photo of a tarantula that was just sitting out in the open near it’s home (a hole in the ground).  It was looking for a nice meal, but stayed close enough to it’s home that it would not become a meal for another predator.  Well, I have to say, that sure was a power-packed night hike-kinkajou, huge toad, bats, and a tarantula!  Thanks, Greg!  

- Fran Zakutansky