Mothers' Day- The Jaguar Mom

The bite of the Jaguar has been recorded to be the strongest among cats, about twice as strong as that of a lion. Its jaws are also the second strongest pairs of all mammals, after the Spotted Hyena. This property enables this big cat to deploy a hunting method that is unique among felids- biting through the skull between the ears, directly piercing the brain. This technique is used specifically to kill Capybaras. 

How the jaguar mom still manages to carry her little furballs without even a scratch, beats me! No wonder this formidable yet soft-hearted predator is revered in Mesoamerican cultures.

Happy Mothers' Day to all moms, tame and wild!

Gold Mining in Costa Rica's Rainforests

Costa Rica's rainforests are believed to have the highest biodiversity for any country! This is probably because of the fact that the landmass that is now Costa Rica and Panama served as a bridge between North and South America three to five million years ago, allowing the different flora and fauna to intermingle. Costa Rica's biodiversity makes for nearly 4% of all the species found in the world!

Infinito Gold, a Canadian gold mining company has slapped Costa Rica with a $1 billion lawsuit because the country denied them the rights to start an open pit mine in the rainforest. Several predictions have been made about the toxicity of the mining activity and its impact on the health of the rainforest. An online petition has also been started against the lawsuit here- http://action.sumofus.org/a/mining-costarica/8/2/?sub=fb We've already seen the tremendous damage done to the Amazon by gold mining, and the rainforests of Costa Rica must not fall prey at any cost!