Costa Rica is world-renowned for its biodiversity. However, in recent years, rapid urban expansion along the country’s coastal regions has led to a drastic reduction of the remaining forest patches.
Guanacaste, the most intensively developed tourist region, is experiencing an accelerated growth of real estate projects, resulting in severe territorial fragmentation.
Iconic species such as the howler monkey are increasingly forced to use electrical power lines instead of tree branches to move in search of water and food—resources that are becoming scarcer as forests disappear. This has led to brutal electrocutions on a daily basis, causing a dramatic decline in the howler monkey population.
If decisive measures are not taken in the short term, the howler monkey—and many other species—could disappear, along with the ecological balance that has long defined Costa Rica’s environmental identity.
Último Aullido follows three protagonists at the forefront of this struggle: Inés, a wildlife activist; Óscar, a leading primatologist; and Marta, a veterinarian at a major rescue center.
Together, they face the urgent task of protecting endangered species while working to transform society’s relationship with nature.
From advocating for national-level legal and regulatory changes to implementing concrete local solutions, these defenders of wildlife trace a path toward sustainable coexistence between humans and fauna.
By accompanying Inés, Óscar and Marta through their commitment and perseverance, the film takes us deep into the tropical forest to encounter the howler monkey, along the coast to reveal what remains hidden behind tourist imagery, and into political and social spaces where urgent action can redefine our relationship with the natural world and drive meaningful change.
