This article is one of a series on life in the campo, or country living in Costa Rica, as my wife and I* experienced it on our visits and after moving to Costa Rica. Each is a sort of time capsule, the stories evolving with us as we have lived more experiences and delved deeper into the culture.

As part of helping another potential reforester find land, we were also looking at a home he could live in.  Now most North Americans prefer a cooler climate than the one around the Bajo (the local name for the land of the finca), so we headed to the top of the nearest mountain, where it is considerably cooler. (Photo courtesy of Las Pumas rescue center)

A person we know is trying to sell a house located in a pretty little village.  It is a very nice tico home, built of concrete and paneled inside with wood.  The outside is beautifully landscaped with many of the plants that are sold here as houseplants.  Amy and I would love to live in a place like this if my business did not require me being closer to San Jose.  Anyway, as we were looking at the property, I noticed an ocelot pelt and it looked pretty new.  I asked Hector about it and he said that the renters of the house had killed it because it was killing the chickens.

I think this illustrates the problem with deforestation and protecting the ecology.  Those who often seem most concerned about deforestation live in cities and are not directly affected by the predation of animals like ocelots.  Of course, I and the gentleman I was with would have been more than willing to pay for more chickens to produce more ocelots.  We would have been honored to have an ocelot eat our chickens!  However, when you are relying on those same chickens for your food, your attitude can change.

Many of the ticos who live in the campo do value the wildlife. Hector and the owner of the casa were upset that the renters had killed the ocelot.  Also, the man we bought our finca from was looking for someone who would take care of the land like he had for 30+ years.  Despite his need to sell, he was not willing to let it go to someone who would destroy the habitat. I definitely am finding two groups of people in the campo.  There is a group aware of the damage being done to the land by certain practices and concerned about the future of the land.  There are others that are only concerned about making a quick buck.

By the way, on the same property, we saw a sloth, or more truthfully, Hector saw it and then pointed it out to the rest of us.

*We are Fred and Amy Morgan, originally from the US. We bought a dairy farm in Costa Rica to plant trees in its pastures, then later caught a dream of turning all the land we can to permanently protected, sustainably maintained forest once the plantation trees have been harvested for profit. We make most of the wood from the plantations into furniture, flooring, and other wood products.

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