The things you find in your backyard
Meet Donald Varela Soto, a farmer and eco-tour guide in Costa Rica whose decades long mission to rewild a desolated cattle ranch led to the discovery of a new species of frog.
Growing up in Bijagua de Upala surrounded by rainforest, Donald trained himself to pick out specific animal sounds from nature’s chorus. His deep connection with the forest prompted him as an adult to purchase a cattle ranch in the early 2000s, with the vision of rewilding the clear cut fields back into lush forests.
Over 18 years, Donald and his community have transformed the property into the 220-hectare Tapir Valley Nature Reserve, encouraging native plants and wildlife like jaguars and the Baird’s tapir back to the area, creating a thriving hub for eco-tourism.
Four years ago, while working in the wetlands of the reserve, Donald heard a frog song he’d never heard before. Not everyone would be able to discern a specific sound from the 155 frogs in the area but trusting his ears, Donald spent months searching for the source. On a rainy day in 2018 he sighted a tiny frog, the size of a bottle cap, with a distinctive yellow line running halfway around its body.
Eager to find out what the frog could be, Donald checked local field guides and species identification websites, and when there were no matches, shared a video with the Costa Rica Wildlife Foundation and invited their resident herpetologist to visit the reserve.
Turns out, Donald’s tree frog was new to science. After rigorous investigation it was given the name Tlalocohyla Celestein tribute to the famous turquoise waterfall, Río Celeste, which is a tourism icon for the local community. Despite researchers searching other regions, the frog has so far only been found in Donald’s wetland.
Without his mission to restore nature, the frog species would likely have been wiped completely from existence. There might be something hiding in your property, in your lands, in your forests, that is an important addition to science. The more we know about what we have, the more we can do to protect it.
