Night Hikes!

SPECIES UPDATED

I love night hikes! There is something so mysterious and exciting about walking through the rainforest with only a headlamp not knowing what awaits you up around the next corner of the trail. Your vision is limited to just a small beam of light, and hundreds of strange sounds surround you from out of the darkness on every side. It's certainly not for the faint of heart :) Nighttime is especially interesting to me, because that is when all of the "creepy crawlies" come out! There are so many incredible nocturnal reptiles, amphibians, and insects you get to see when you walk around at night :)

Tonight I had a little free time, so I went out on my first night hike here in Monteverde. I saw so many amazing things! I saw 4 leaf litter frogs (which means anywhere from 1-4 species...), a bunch of big cane toads, a walking stick insect, and a HUGE tarantula! I ended up walking around for 2 and a half hours because I saw so many things :) Here are some pictures from the hike.

Eleutherodactylus/Craugastor stejnegerianus

Eleutherodactylus/Craugastor stejnegerianus

Eleutherodactylus/Pristimantis ridens

Eleutherodactylus/Craugastor podiciferus

Cane Toads

Walking stick! So cool :)

This tarantula was HUGE! The body was about 3

inches long, and with legs out, probably about

a 6-8 inch diameter! This species eats lizards,

rodents, and even birds! Crazy!