The Hummingbird Effect

By some measures, it’s a tiny country, just .03% of the Earth’s landmass. But when it comes to wildlife, Costa Rica is an ecological giant, bursting with a density of species and diverse habitats unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

While this country’s highly beloved pollinators, hummingbirds, go to work, the fruits of their labor bring neighboring wildlife to the feast. Scarlet macaws, monkeys and toucans pluck fresh fruit from the foliage, dropping juicy scraps and seed pods to the forest floor. At dawn, elusive Baird’s tapirs use their prehensile noses to sniff out a meal, devouring the fallen fruit, carrying the seeds of future forests in their bellies as they forage. In eye-popping cinematic style, "The Hummingbird Effect" captures the intricately linked creatures of the country’s lush environments, showcasing the dazzling hummingbirds at their heart and giving new meaning to the country’s motto, Pura Vida — Pure Life.