Front-facing image of resident male puma
What camera traps revealed during Wildlife Season
It started with something familiar.
Each week, troops of capuchin, howler, and squirrel monkeys moved through the trees at Arenas Del Mar. They arrived in the early hours, feeding on fruiting branches, pausing along the forest edge, then continuing on.
For our Sustainability Manager, this wasn’t just a daily sighting. It was evidence.
Monkeys depend on connected habitat. Their presence confirmed that the hotel’s private reserve is part of a larger ecosystem—linked to Manuel Antonio National Park and surrounding biological corridors.
But monkeys are visible. What moved through the forest when no one was watching?
Looking Beyond What We Can See
The question shifted quickly.
What species were using the property at night? What passed along the creek or through the understory while the trails were empty? And how could we better understand—and protect—the full range of wildlife moving through this land?
In late 2024, during Cayuga Collection’s annual Innovation Contest, our team proposed The Secret Life of Wildlife—a camera trap initiative designed to document these unseen patterns.
The project moved forward. Then, something unexpected happened.
Rare Daylight Encounter
In April 2025, a guest reported a puma walking past their terrace in broad daylight.
In this region, pumas are rarely seen during the day. Most records come from nighttime camera traps deep inside protected areas.
To see one here—moving through the resort, in full view—was unusual and significant.
Later sightings at dusk and along the forest edge showed the puma was claiming the resort as part of its territory.
Installing the First Cameras
By July, with guidance from biologists at The Sloth Institute and support from our Naturalist Guide team, four camera traps were installed across key points in the reserve.
Placement focused on natural corridors—areas where wildlife was already moving.
The goal was simple: observe without interruption.
The First Nighttime Confirmation
Within weeks, the forest began to reveal itself.
A young male puma appeared on camera, marking territory along the Jungle Trail late at night.
First puma captured on camera at night
This was the first confirmed record from the trap system—and clear proof that the earlier sightings were part of a larger pattern.
A Forest in Motion
But the young male puma wasn’t alone.
As more footage came in, a consistent rhythm emerged.
Agoutis moved along the forest floor. Pacas stayed close to the creek. Coatis traveled in small groups. Raccoons and opossums passed through after dark. A northern tamandua climbed through the lower branches. Iguanas rested in open patches of sun.
A tiger heron returned repeatedly to the same stretch of water.
Paca near the creek that runs through Arenas Del Mar
In September, the cameras recorded something even rarer.
Two ocelots moving along the same trail system.
Ocelot captured on jungle trail camera
Smaller and more elusive than pumas, they are seldom seen—but their presence confirms the health and complexity of the ecosystem.
What the Data Tells Us
Since then, the work continues.
The camera traps are checked regularly. Each new image helps refine how we manage the land—where to reforest, how to maintain corridors, and how to reduce human impact in key areas.
It also shapes how our Naturalist Guides interpret the forest for guests.
Because here, wildlife is not occasional. It’s continuous.
Seeing the Forest Differently, Wildlife Season at Arenas Del Mar
During Wildlife Season, you’re arriving at the moment when these patterns are easiest to observe.
You might see monkeys feeding in the canopy at first light. Or walk a trail in the morning that, just hours earlier, was used by a puma.
With the guidance of our Naturalist Guides, you begin to notice the details—the sounds, the tracks, the moments in between.
For more information, contact us at [email protected].
