Aero: David Whitt – Costa Rica 2016 – Biodiversity

Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

The weather in Costa Rica in January is absolutely amazing! Personally, prior to this trip, I had never been even to the south in January, so this was the first time in my life that I had ever seen January so hot. Another first was wearing sunscreen in January. Obviously, with it being so cold in New York during January, I had never had to wear sunscreen in January, so that was a first.

David Whitt

David Whitt

I was very surprised to see the lack of rain in Costa Rica. It seems to rain very sparingly in Costa Rica, especially considering how much it rains during the summer here in the United States, compared to the amount of rain in Costa Rica. Taking the lack of rain into consideration, it was kind of interesting to see sprinklers being used in January! Like, we barely need them at all here in the United States, so seeing so many of them being used so much in every single field we saw was pretty interesting and cool.

It was quite surprising to see how many different types of plants and animals are in Costa Rica, compared to the United States. One huge first for me among the Costa Rican wild were the crocodiles in the Crocodile Lake. That was very interesting! The only crocodiles I have ever seen were at a zoo, in captivity, so this was definitely a first. I have always been known as someone who is fearful of any animals that could attack, so it was quite nerve-racking to go onto a boat in a lake filled with thousands of crocodiles.

In the Unites States, a zoo is a very popular attraction, especially for a school field trip and a day out for the family. I have never really liked zoos because I would rather see the animals live a normal life in the wild. Taking this into consideration, it was very encouraging for me to learn that Costa Rica had recently outlawed zoos, and now the only zoos allowed are rescue zoos, with the intention of hopefully releasing the animals in the future, such as Zooave.

David Whitt
LEAF Contributor
ML@FLCC: Costa Rica 2016

Modern Languages @ FLCC: Costa Rica Study Abroad 2016