movies about Nicaragua

Much of Nicaragua's cultural and political history is captured in the cameras of diverse filmmakers through the years. Here we present another set of films that tell stories new and old. Please let us know which films you like, and why! 

Nicaragua-A Nation's Right to Survive. This 1983 documentary directed by John Pilger presents the difficulties facing the young, revolutionary Nicaragua, crippled by aggression from the superpower to the North. "The issue is that the United States has no right to invade and humiliate a small country" (A. C. Sandino). This film includes footage of US biplanes in attacks on Ocotal, where the first aerial bombing in the world was conducted in 1926-before the Spanish massacre at Guernica.

Land  "Next time you pack your sunscreen bring your gun". A documentary video about the housing development boom on the Nicaraguan Pacific coast. If you are thinking of buying property in Nicaragua, see this first. Directed by Julian Pinder, is available on Torrents.

Pictures from a Revolution by Susan Meiselas. "PICTURES FROM A REVOLUTION is also a smart, unvarnished tale of the evolution of images as they run headlong into popular culture and political agendas". 

The Mosquito Coast, based on the book by Paul Theroux, tells a Gulliveresque story set on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. Starring Harrison Ford as a dreamer wanting to change the Nicaraguans, only he still does not even know them. 

Nicaragua: An Unfinished Revolution presents social and political issues facing the Sandinistas in their second chance at social transformation in Nicaragua. This video, produced by Al-Jazeera, is presented below.

No Pasaran, a film by the Australian filmmaker David Bradbury, covers the history of Nicaragua from the construction of the Somoza dynasty until the Nicaraguan Sandinista Revolution. 

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Tarantulas!

No, this is not a scary movie. In fact, the tarantulas don't live up to their reputation as fearsome animals. They are passive and rarely or never bite humans. We know of no tarantula bite in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, ever! What we do know about them is that there are many different kinds-about 900 species are currently recognized, all in the family Theraphosidae. Surely there are more, because some have yet to be discovered. 

As one might imagine, not much research on tarantulas has been done anywhere in Nicaragua. Witold Lapinski is giving a look at "our" tarantulas. He is identifying these individuals, so we should soon have an initial list for the tarantula species of our area. Enjoy the photos and don't get scared! All photos by Witold Lapinski. 

As we learned from Witold, not all hunting spiders are tarantulas. The wandering spiders (Family Ctenidae) are also represented in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, and two of them are shown below.

FUNDECI/GAIA sponsors volunteer and internship programs in biodiversity conservation. If you would like to help us save wild nature in Nicaragua by volunteering or making a donation, please contact us!

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Animal Rescue VIII: Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Most wildlife species face many threats in Nicaragua. Habitats for wild animals are disappearing from the clearing of forests. Animals are being caught and trafficked as pets or meat. But among the greatest pressures on wildlife is caused by pets, especially by cats. Many animals fall victim to the hunting instinct of this domesticated animal. A cat can kill almost any animal smaller than it, and may kill as many as one per day, regardless of how much it is fed by its owners. For this reason, cats are incompatible with natural areas. They eliminate susceptible species from the vicinity, efficiently, usually without anyone even noticing. 

We were recently brought a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilanum) that had fallen victim to a local cat in the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve. The owl was not bleeding, but had obviously suffered a serious internal injury. The bird never was able to stand on his own feet, although he was conscious and fierce. He could still bite with force. We gave him a brief inspection, then placed him in warm wrappings and tried to give him a peaceful, warm, quiet setting to recover. Nonetheless, he died within a couple of hours. 

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, Nicaragua. Photo by Trolls Hollengren..

When this owl came to us, he was fully conscious, but incapable of  standing on his own feet. Photo by Trolls Hollengren.

The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl is tiny, but ferocious. Photo by Trolls Hollengren. 

The injured Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl never recovered from the shock and internal injuries from an attack by a cat. Photo by Trolls Hollengren. 

Not all our attempts at animal rescue end in success, but we gave the bird all the opportunity we could so it would live to be free another day. This species is uncommon in our location, but we have recently heard the characteristic morning song at dawn near Estacion Biologica. Although this one died, we know others are nearby! The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls can be found rather easily when present, particularly because they are often active during the day. The skin of this one will be used for scientific study at some point in the future. 

Would you like to help us save wild nature in Nicaragua? Please consider a small donation to help to pay for the rescue of wild animals. 

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The arrow cichlid faces threats from invasive species

Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua, is home to several endemic fish species of the genus Amphilophus, members of the so-called Midas cichlid species complex, as is Lake Xiloa. Evolution may have affected the fish in these two lakes differently, however, particularly because those from Lake Xiloa evolved in the presence of an important predator of cichlid fry, the bigmouth sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor), whereas this predator was not present in Lake Apoyo during the two hundred or so centuries during which the several species of Lake Apoyo took form. The bigmouth sleeper was introduced into Lake Apoyo in 1991, by an individual with great plans for fishing and a bucket full of the sleepers just caught in a nearby lake.

In a collaboration between the University of Turku, Finland, the University of Konstanz, Germany, and FUNDECI/GAIA, we compared the responses of two ecologically similar Amphilophus cichlids in the two lakes. The defensive responses to predators of arrow cichlid, Amphilophus zaliosus, in Lake Apoyo were compared to that of Amphilophus sagittae in Lake Xiloa. The arrow cichlid demonstrated evolutionary naivete, allowing this dangerous predator of fry to reach closer to its nest than its counterpart in Lake Xiloa. The results were just published by Topi Lehtonen, Jeffrey McCrary, and Axel Meyer, in January 2012 in PLoS One, a journal of cutting-edge biological science research.

These results are of vast importance, because the arrow cichlid is now officially an endangered species. It is listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered. Its population is extraordinarily small, its habitat limited to Lake Apoyo, and its threats now include an exotic predator. Our monitoring of this fish, and its fellow Midas cichlid species, is more important than ever. In the context of Lake Apoyo, the bigmouth sleeper is an invasive species with dangerous qualities.

Taken from the Abstract:

" Introduced species represent one of the most serious global threats to biodiversity. In this field-based study, we assessed behavioural responses of brood tending cichlid fish to an invasive predator of their offspring. This was achieved by comparing parental defence responses of the endangered arrow cichlid (Amphilophus zaliosus), a fish species endemic to the crater lake Apoyo in Nicaragua, towards the bigmouth sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor), a formidable predator of cichlid fry, and all other potential fish predators of offspring. The bigmouth sleeper was recently introduced into Apoyo but naturally co-exists with cichlids in a few other Nicaraguan lakes. Arrow cichlid parents allowed bigmouth sleepers to advance much closer to their fry than other predators before initiating aggressive brood defence behaviours. Interestingly, parents of a very closely related species, A. sagittae, which has coevolved with bigmouth sleepers in crater lake Xiloa´, reacted to approaching bigmouth sleepers at comparable distances as to other predators of cichlid fry. These results provide a novel demonstration of the specific mechanism (i.e. naive parental behaviour) by which invasive predators may negatively affect species that lack the adequate behavioural repertoire."

If you are interested in seeing the arrow cichlid up close and personal, go scuba diving with us. We monitor the fish populations of Laguna de Apoyo and certified open-water divers can join us in a monitoring dive.

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Brushfoot Butterflies (Nymphalidae) in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, Nicaragua

Simple checkerspot, Chlosyne hippodrome, dorsal view. Photo by Aura Cruz.

Simple checkerspot, Chlosyne hippodrome, ventral view. Photo by Aura Cruz. 

The brushfoots, as the butterflies of the family Nymphalidae are called, are easily studied, because many of them are attracted to traps with rotten bait as fruit. We have been studying this group in several locations in the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, in Nicaragua with several objectives:

1. To determine which butterflies in this group are present in the area.
2. To determine the seasonal characteristics of each member of the group present.
3. To compare the communities in different parts of the reserve according to the forest structure and land use patterns.

We are using the brushfoot butterflies as a model system to evaluate the environmental impact of constructions and of deforestation on the local fauna diversity. We have a simple, quantitative method for field work which involves traps with rotten fruit bait. We count and classify butterflies which enter the traps, and then release them without harm. Would you like to help us monitor butterfly populations? Please contact us for more information. We are seeking volunteers and interns to perform the field work and analyze the data.

Pictured are some of the species which commonly enter our traps in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve.

Giant owl butterfly, Caligo memnon, dorsal view. . Photo by Aura Cruz. 

Giant owl butterfly, Caligo memnon, ventral view. Photo by Aura Cruz. 

Guatemalan cracker, Hamadryas guatemalena, dorsal view. Photo by Aura Cruz.

Guatemalan cracker, Hamadryas guatemalena, ventral view. Photo by Aura Cruz. 

Mangrove buckeye, Junonia evarete, dorsal view. Photo by Aura Cruz. 

Mangrove buckeye, Junonia evarete, ventral view. Photo by Aura Cruz. 

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Xolotlan

One of our students at Apoyo Spanish School, Douglas Haynes, writes professionally and is a professor of journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and one of his themes is life in Nicaragua. Our staff helped provide information and sources with this article he wrote about the grim fate of Lake Xolotlan, also called Lake Managua. "The Lake at the Bottom of the Bottom" appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review.

The pollution of Lake Xolotlan is severe, but the poor people living in its vicinity have no choice but to use it. Haynes discusses the lake, its people, and an intent to remediate the levels of contaminants in it. Agricultural and municipal runoff affect it as well as chemical contaminants such as mercury. What could have been a tourist attraction, is an environmental disaster. So much wonderful water, wasted!

Not all is lost. Mother earth has her healing ways. Xolotlan is far from dead-in fact, it is teeming with life. In fact, four bird species in Nicaragua were first reported along the shores of Xolotlan (Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson's Plover, and Baird's Sandpiper), in 2008.

Apoyo Spanish School is the oldest existing Spanish School in Nicaragua. It is where we met the author of this article, Douglas Haynes. If you would like Spanish instruction from a professionally-run school, please contact us.

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