
Jingle bells of the Snake World – the Neotropical Rattlesnakes
Author: Roel de Plecker
Tropical Rattlesnakes, does this word ring a bell to you? I think everyone has heard of them or seen them on television, stealing the show in cowboy movies or nature documentaries. Famous for their rattling tail tip, actually modified scales, being a series of hollow interlocking segments made out of keratin (the same substance as your fingernails.) Specialized muscles in the snakes’ tail shake the rattle at a very high frequency, thereby producing the unmistakable sound. One of several hypotheses for these pitvipers’ rattle’s origin is that it evolved as an aposematic warning for predators that the snake is venomous. Another assumption is that the rattling tail distracts predators from attacking the more vulnerable head of the animal. Defensive tail vibration is quite common in venomous and non-venomous snakes. Examples are bushmasters, lancehead pitvipers, tiger rat snakes, etc. Also, it can be that the snakes lure their prey with their tail. This ‘caudal luring’ has been observed in several other species of snakes. There is the popular misbelieve that you can determine the age of the snake by counting these segments. However, every time the snake shed’s its skin, a new segment is added. Snakes shed several times a year, they grow out of their old skin, and they grow faster when they are young. The baby rattlesnakes get born with just a single button, and every time they shed, they get one extra. Also sometimes rattles do break off when getting too large. |

Several species of rattlesnakes are found from North America, throughout Central America (with Mexico having the most species), and all the way down through South America to Northern Argentina. These neotropical snakes live in a wide variety of habitats throughout their range, from deserts at sea level to alpine cloud forests up to 4.000 meters of elevation. All rattlesnake species are pitvipers; they are venomous and give birth to live young. Like all venomous snakes, they get born with fangs and venom glands, natural born killers. In Costa Rica, only one species of rattlesnake can be found, being the Neotropical rattlesnake or Crotalus simus. It occurs in the drier regions of the country, being Guanacaste and Nicoya’s dry forests. The Neotropical rattlesnake can grow to 1.8 meters, with males being bigger than females. Ritual combat between males has been observed. In this combat, no fangs nor venom are used, but the males raise their heads high and start wrestling with each other, the strongest one trying to push its opponent to the ground. After a while, the loser of the fight slitters away, while the stronger male will mate the female that has been observing the show. Neotropical rattlesnakes are mostly nocturnal and terrestrial, however, you can see them, as well, on lower tree branches. They feed primarily on small mammals. These rattlesnakes are absent from our Southern Pacific coast, but you can see them at Parque Reptilandia. |

Comprehensive Travel Guide & Magazine #77, South Pacific Costa Rica
At 9 am, the Editorial Team of our Comprehensive Travel Guide & Magazine meets for another day of creation: ¿How to support our clients better, develop a new strategy, decide which is the best photo for an article, and answer our readers’ questions?



The Magic at Scala Restaurant in Dominical
Scala Restaurant & Sibú Café are located at the Escaleras Village. On the Coastal Highway, just a few kilometers South of Dominical or North of Uvita, follow the sign to Escaleras. It offers a gorgeous contour between the jungle and the sea. Village Escaleras is an all-open location with three environments with a cool breeze that blows across the terraces.
It has a hip atmosphere and soothing environment; you feel like relaxing in the midst of the jungle with the ocean showing through the tall trees. The place is so well-liked that most customers come regularly to have an early breakfast or enjoy a delicious lunch or dinner with their family, friends, or business partners.



LECHUGA: THE SAD STORY OF A TURTLE
Lechuga is the story of a turtle that highlight two main issues that the South Pacific of Costa Rica, and the Ocean in general, are facing. Entanglement in ghost fishing nets, or abandoned/lost nets,



A romantic dinner at Retro Restaurant
Retro Restaurant offered a romantic dinner to celebrate the ocassion. That night we can say that the magic of love floated in the place. To complement the decoration, the fine attention, and the special menu that Chef Jordany prepared, we had the opportunity to enjoy the songs performed by Armando Román and incredible magic acts performed by two distinguished magicians,



Feng Shui
FENG SHUI, the Chinese art of interior design, brings us success, health, and an “even” better life. Feng-Shui, literally translated as “wind-water,” is the art of living in harmony with the environment. Happiness, prosperity, and health increase. Feng-Shui teaches life in harmony with the five natural elements: earth, metal, water, wood, and fire.



The New Human Condition?
A great paradox encloses the new human condition, even though so many essayists have presented us with such eloquent and diverse points of view. It only amplified this dilemma since probably the best we can comprehend is that this great paradox would be logical, and therefore, its comprehension inaccessible.



COVIRENAS – Protecting Biodiversity
Osa is home to 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity. Unfortunately, it has one of the lowest human development indices in the country.
The Osa Peninsula has historically had socioeconomic conflicts that inevitably trigger environmental crimes.



MANASSAH, the need for a change in life
Manassah is from Chicago (Illinois) and has lived in Uvita for five years. She left behind her job as a court reporter, well paid, and no less stressed in the metropolis of Chicago with a population of nearly 3 million people. The need for a change in her life was prevalent. After volunteering at the Hostel Cascada Verde in Uvita in 2009, she decided to focus on moving to Uvita permanently.
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