Wildlife · Rincón de San Josecito, Osa, Puntarenas

Osa Pumas and Tapirs: Film Shows a Village That Stopped Hunting

Living with Pumas and Tapirs, a documentary released in May 2026 by tour platform BirdnWild with the Corcovado Foundation, follows Rincón de San Josecito, an Osa Peninsula village beside Corcovado National Park where residents who once hunted now work as guides. The partners are using the film to raise money to spread the model to neighboring communities.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Film Highlights Osa Community Protecting Pumas and Tapirs (2026-05-15)

In most rural corners of Central America, a puma near the house is a problem to be solved with a rifle. In Rincón de San Josecito, a small village on the edge of Corcovado National Park, it's now a reason to call the neighbors and the guides. A new short documentary, Living with Pumas and Tapirs, tells how that change happened and why the people behind it think it's still fragile.

A film about a village, made with the village

The documentary was produced by BirdnWild, a Costa Rica-based platform that books birding and wildlife tours with local guides, working with the Corcovado Foundation, a nonprofit focused on Costa Rica's South Pacific that we profile in our guide to community projects in Costa Rica. Coverage began in mid-May 2026, including in The Tico Times on May 15, and La Nación reported on May 16 that BirdnWild released it on YouTube.

None of the published reports name a director or the individual residents who appear in it; the stories are told through the community's testimony. The film's makers describe Rincón de San Josecito as the first known case in Costa Rica of a rural community living peacefully alongside pumas and Baird's tapirs.

From hunting to guiding

According to the reports, families in Rincón de San Josecito long relied on hunting for food. Tapirs, pumas, wild pigs and even toucans were fair game. Over time, ecotourism and environmental education gave residents another way to earn a living: as guides and conservation workers showing visitors the wildlife that lives around their homes and trails.

La Nación put the change simply: the animals stopped being seen as resources. Today tapirs and pumas move near houses, and residents who spot a puma warn each other so the animal can be left alone. The reports credit an unnamed couple in the village with pushing early for ecotourism.

The Tico Times summed up the economics this way: the forest is worth more alive than hunted.

Gemelito, and the limits of one good village

The film's most sobering thread is a young puma the community called Gemelito. Residents watched him grow up from a cub. When he reached adulthood and moved off to find his own territory, as young male pumas do, he was shot near a neighboring area that doesn't share Rincón's conservation culture, La Nación reported.

That loss is the main argument for what comes next. Big cats and tapirs range far beyond a single village, so one community's tolerance can't protect them if the next valley over still sees them as targets. That's the case for connected land, explained in our guide to nature reserves and wildlife corridors.

What the partners want to do next

BirdnWild and the Corcovado Foundation are raising money to take the model to nearby Osa communities. The plan, as described in the coverage, includes:

• environmental education for children, parents and teachers
• training and certification for residents who want to become wildlife guides
• field equipment and trips to support that training

The stated fundraising goal is US$82,000, according to the Tico Times and La Nación.

Why pumas and tapirs matter in Osa

Corcovado, which protects more than 40,000 hectares of the Osa Peninsula, is one of the few places in Costa Rica where large predators and big herbivores still have room to roam. Baird's tapir, the largest land mammal in Central America, is listed as endangered by the IUCN; it's slow to reproduce and vulnerable to hunting and habitat loss. Tapirs spread seeds over long distances, and pumas help keep prey populations in balance, so both play an outsized role in keeping the forest healthy.

Hunting pressure around the park is a long-running problem, from the killing of protected peccaries earlier this year to macaw nest poaching. Stories like Rincón's, and camera-trap records such as the jaguar called Encanto, show the other side: wildlife returns when people nearby have reasons to protect it.

What it means for travelers

Choosing a certified local guide is one of the most direct ways a visit to Osa supports this kind of shift: it puts income in the hands of the people deciding, every day, whether wildlife near their homes is a threat or an asset. Stay on marked trails, keep your distance from tapirs and big cats, and never feed wildlife. You can find parks and reserves on the national parks section of our map.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Rincón de San Josecito?

It's a small rural community on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, in the province of Puntarenas, next to Corcovado National Park.

Who made Living with Pumas and Tapirs?

The documentary was produced by BirdnWild, a Costa Rican wildlife-tour platform, together with the Corcovado Foundation. Published reports don't name a director.

Are there pumas and tapirs near Corcovado?

Yes. Corcovado and its surroundings are home to pumas, jaguars and Baird's tapirs, and tapirs are now regularly seen near homes and trails in Rincón de San Josecito.

How can I support the project?

The Corcovado Foundation and BirdnWild are fundraising for education and guide training in nearby communities. Hiring certified local guides in Osa also supports the same goal.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Film Highlights Osa Community Protecting Pumas and Tapirs (2026-05-15)
2. La Nación: Costa Rica documenta caso de convivencia pacífica entre comunidades, pumas y tapires (2026-05-16)
3. Noticias Ambientales: Costa Rica surprises the world with an unprecedented coexistence between rural communities, pumas, and tapirs (2026-05-12)
4. BirdnWild: official site
5. Corcovado Foundation: official site

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.