Explorations in a pristine rainforest and the jungle of the mind.

Nic Korte’s Ten Jungle Days combines natural history, travel, autobiography, and discovery. The book weaves cogent descriptions of Costa Rica’s human and natural histories with journeys into the world “out there” and inside one’s self. Nic describes exotic species such as Tamanduas and Purple Caecilians. He recounts the nighttime terror of being awakened by a bloody bite from a Watson’s Climbing Rat, the excitement of watching an angry Geoffroy’s Spider Monkey fall ten meters through the forest canopy, and the delightful siren calls of extraordinary birds. Through these experiences during one memorable period in a pristine rainforest, Korte examines the beauty and intricacy of nature and his personal quest to find a coherent philosophy of life. Overall this is a book of hope—hope for the human spirt and hope that more people can be inspired to love their own lives and to preserve what wild nature remains.

Nic Korte’s work in the conservation community culminated in his being the 2015 recipient of the Richard G. Levad Award from the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies which recognizes individuals who “have provided distinguished service to the ornithological community, made scholarly contributions to the field of ornithology and/or have enthused others about conserving birds and their habitats.” In July 2019, Nic received the William Dutcher Award from the National Audubon Society for his “leadership in the birding community…for over four decades and his continual voice for the environment, birds, and the conservation challenges they face every day.” He is an environmental scientist whose previous publications include a technical book and more than 50 articles in professional scientific journals. Nic Korte has journeyed to the American tropics (Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Panama) more than 40 times and has personally documented sightings of more than 2000 species of birds.