In Costa Rica, the environment is perfect for growing many tropical plants that can be farmed for food, timber, and many other products. The perfect mix of warm weather and rainfall all year round makes this rainforest a victim to the growing populations of the world. Many hectares of land has been deforested and replanted with pineapples, coffee, bananas, and lumber. The people of Costa Rica work very hard keeping their fields up, and they rely on them for their income.  Many of the animals that once lived in these areas have been squeezed into small preserves and national parks, yet some flourish in the deforested areas. Many of the bird species benefit from the cleared land and actually, their number has increased since the deforestation has occurred. This fact came as a surprise to me. You would think that when the forests disappeared so would the animals that live in them. Many of the larger animals and animals that have very specific needs usually do disappear with the forests. Yet in many of the cleared areas birds like hummingbirds are everywhere. Many of the people had flowers in their yards that were covered in birds and insects. Also, the Coati, which is a central American raccoon look alike, seems to do well around people. I saw them nearly everywhere we went and they were always looking for food around the places that we stayed. The government of Costa Rica has discovered that tourism is a large money maker and they are trying to preserve as much as they can. Tourism buses were all over the roads, and many places had birdwatchers or animal watchers admiring their surroundings. Several of the places we visited also had been bought by private individuals and let grow back up over time, this process takes many years. Hopefully, in the future, Costa Rica will be just as beautiful as it was when I was there.