Episode Information

El Niño has returned to the Costa Rican coast for the third time in a decade. Once again, the forest of Corcovado faces drought or violent storms. Toucans and macaws are both common in captivity, but they've rarely been studied in the wild because rainforests are such difficult places to work in. But Corcovado has become an important centre for the study of tropical ecology, with over 500kmsq of virgin rainforest. Despite this apparent bounty, things are not quite right in the forest. As a result of El Niño, the last couple of years have seen unusual weather patterns, less rainfall. During a normal dry season in Corcovado, it rains at least once a week. This year, there's been no rain for three months. If the study of any of these animals in Corcovado has shown one thing, it's that no creature lives in isolation, Corcovado is more than just a collection of the rare and endangered. It's a complex and fragile ecosystem at the mercy of the world’s weather.