Hopping around
Costa Rica.
Vickie Lillo treks through the Central American rainforests in search of
unique amphibians.
“Your sword smells funny, " exclaims Disney ’ s Captain
Jack Sparrow, with dangling dreadlocks and mascaraed eyes,
as he stares down the blade of his nemesis, Hector Barbossa.
"Aye. Poison, ” the wily pirate from the Pirates of the Caribbean
franchise replies. “From the innards of poisonous toads.
Just a scratch, and you' re a dead man in minutes. "
I
ndeed, indigenous peoples - mostly the Emberás
of Colombia and their related kinfolk who, over
generations, migrated into Panamá via the
Darien Province - utilise the toxic secretions of
frogs from the genus Phyllobates, in family
Dendrobatidae, to taint the darts of their blowguns.
These are then used to hunt spider monkeys, birds
and even the elusive jaguar, according to the
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
in 1978, when the Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates
terribilis) became the third species of poison arrow
frog confirmed to be used for this purpose; the
others being the Kokoe Poison Dart Frog
(P. aurotaenia) and the bright yellow, Black-legged
Poison Frog (P. bicolor). Though most of the
Amerindians prefer plant poison, specifically curare,
Emberá and Noanamá Chocó tribesman rub the tips
of their darts against the backs of living frogs or,
much worse, impale them through the mouth and
hind leg, since agitation results in an increased
discharge of toxins. The natives must use extreme
caution when collecting the frogs, which are
sufficiently potent to kill 10-20 adult men. The
amphibians are hauled around in wicker baskets
until their poison is required.
Luckily, none of Costa Rica’s native inhabitants - of
Chibchense and Meso-American origin - exploit the
poison dart frogs in this manner. In fact, all anurans
are protected, whether they be semi-aquatic, moist-
skinned frogs (rana in Spanish) or land-dwelling, dry
-skinned, warty toads (sapos). It is illegal to kill
them or even keep them as pets – the same goes for
all of the nation’s endemic wildlife. But you can wit-
ness their beauty and extreme diversity on a jungle
night trek, like my husband Gustavo and I did in the
town of La Fortuna, just two hours from the interna-
tional airport in San José.
Arenal Oasis Eco-lodge and Wildlife Refuge is an
18-acre private reserve owned by the Rojas Bonilla
family, located smack-dab in the shadow of the
smouldering volcano of the same name. An ecologi-
cal farm, the back-to-nature facility boasts a dozen
rustic cabins - eleven bungalows and a larger villa -
all unobtrusively nestled amongst the amazing flora
and fauna of the Costa Rican countryside. Two main
activities are offered; morning birding tours and
evening frog excursions. Freelance guide Jason
Torres explains the reason for the incredible
diversity of wild frogs - 28 species to be exact - that