Species of the Day: Wrinkle-faced Bat

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of the Day is the Wrinkle-faced bat.

The Wrinkle-faced Bat, Centurio senex, is listed as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. This striking-looking bat inhabits moist and dry tropical forests of Latin America, from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela. It is considered to be an uncommon species throughout its range, although occasionally it can be locally abundant under certain conditions.

Wrinkle-faced bats are among the dozens of species found near Volcano Masaya in Nicaragua, where bat biologists working with Paso Pacífico are surveying bat guano to establish bat populations.



For more on this species, check out the IUCN fact sheet.

Happy New Year!

From the tropical forests of Nicaragua,

Happy New Year!

This ocelot cat (Leopardus pardalis) was photographed just this month in a forest we are working to protect.  Paso Pacifico scientific intern Robert Euwe caught this image in a motion-detecting "camera trap".   

Paso Pacifico thanks you for your support in 2010 

and welcomes your continued interest in the year to come.

 

Sincerely,

Sarah Otterstrom

Executive Director

Donate on-line by Dec. 31st to receive a 2010 tax-deduction.

From the Wildlife Conservation Society, Nicaragua:

From the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Nicaragua Sea Turtle
Conservation Program we are pleased to announce the new WCS-Nicaragua
Youth Group blog. This blog has been created by a group of young
adults from Pearl Lagoon, located on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua,
as a tool that allows them to broadcast their activities in support of
sea turtle conservation while learning computer skills and engaging
them in collective writing. We invite you to visit the blog!

Any comment or experience that you might want to share with them will
be greatly appreciated, as it will spark their interest and provide
them with first-hand information about other conservation initiatives
around the world.

You can visit the blog by clicking on: http://wcsyouthgroup.wordpress.com

...

Desde el Programa de Conservación de Tortugas Marinas de la Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS) en Nicaragua nos complace anunciar el nuevo
blog del Grupo Juvenil de la WCS en Nicaragua. Este blog ha sido
creado por un grupo de muchachos de Pearl Lagoon, en la costa Caribe
de Nicaragua, como una herramienta que les permita difundir sus
actividades en favor de la conservación de las tortugas marinas
mientras aprenden a manejar la computadora y a redactar pequeños
escritos en grupo. A pesar de que el blog está en creole (inglés),
ellos también entienden español. Queremos invitarles a que lo visiten!

Cualquier comentario o experiencia que quieran compartir con ellos
será bienvenido ya que aumentará su interés y les proporcionará
información de primera mano sobre otras iniciativas de conservación en
distintos puntos del globo.

Pueden visitar el blog haciendo click en: http://wcsyouthgroup.wordpress.com

CAVU, helping people save critical ecosystems in Latin America

From this month's CAVU newsletter:

The first of CAVU’s three films released this year was created in collaboration with NGO Paso Pacífico. “Paso del Istmo” is a narrow ribbon of land between the vast Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean which harbors remnant dry tropical forest, and species such as spider monkeys, yellow-naped parrots, freshwater bullsharks and mass arrivals of olive ridley sea turtles. It is a crucial land bridge for species that migrate between North and South America.  

The film portrays the region’s hardworking people, their culture and wildlife, and Paso Pacifico’s efforts to ensure a sustainable future for all. It is to be used as an educational tool in schools and community groups locally, and with international donors and investors to help convey the importance of sustainable alternatives and conservation in this unique area of Nicaragua. Selects from the film were recently featured at the Clinton Global Initiative 2010 to highlight the work of women in small communities in Nicaragua. 

In November it was screened in its entirety at the XIV Congreso de la Socie- dad para la Biología y Conservación in Costa Rica before an international audience of scientists, conservationists and NGOs.

Species of the Day: Green Turtle

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of the Day is the Green Turtle.

The Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. This long-lived and highly migratory species is found in tropical and, to a lesser extent, sub-tropical waters throughout the globe. The Green Turtle has the most numerous and widely dispersed nesting sites of the seven turtle species.

Green Turtles are among the species who regularly nest along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua on the nesting beaches where our Turtle Rangers protect the turtles and their eggs until the hatchlings can make their way to the sea.

For more on this species, check out the IUCN Fact Sheet.