Costa Rica Fauna

The animal kingdom in Costa Rica is larger than life. The country has many microclimates and it teems with a staggering range of wildlife, partly because of its location on a land bridge between continents.
If your object is to see any of the more shy creatures in remote locales (take your pick from 850 species of birds, 208 mammals, 220 reptiles, 330 species of hummingbirds, 34,000 insects, 130 freshwater fish and 160 species of amphibians), your best chance is to hire a local naturalist guide.
Some of the common mammals include the coati (pizote), a dusk and dawn hunter related to the raccoon (mapache). The collared peccary (saíno) resembles a pig and lives in large groups in the forest. The rodent-like agouti (guatusa) can be found foraging on the forest floor near rivers and streams.
Tapirs (macho de monte), huge 250-kilo (550-lb) mammals, are endangered, partly because they’re prized as delicacies on the dining table, and partly because of shrinking habitat. The vampire bat (vampiro) attacks cattle in the northwest, but are only one of over 100 species of bats in Costa Rica.
Famous frogs are, of course, the golden toad (sapo dorado), now feared to be extinct, the red-eyed tree frog and the poison dart frog (dendrobates pumilio). The latter is a tiny frog that advertises its toxicity with its bright color. They are less than an inch long and can be found under low plant leaves.
The leathery-scaled, olive-gray crocodile (crocodilo) has beady eyes that stare blankly from its head as it skims the surface of the water hunting for frogs, fish, birds and small mammals. They and their slightly smaller cousin, the dark brown caiman, hunt mainly at night. During the day they sun themselves along the banks of rivers and mangrove swamps. But it’s the snake (serpiente) that most people worry about when trekking around the forest. And Costa Rica has 162 species. But take heart, only 22 are poisonous. So, it’s a mixed blessing if you encounter one. The chances are that you’ll be with a naturalist guide, who generally carries anti-venom as a precaution. Snake-bitten tourists are very rare. We have only seen one snake in the wild, a small but venomous yellow eyelash viper, sunning itself in the crook of a tree when we were safely riding an aerial tram. Snakes generally slip away when humans approach, but the one that is responsible for the most bites is the aggressive fer-de-lance (known by its Spanish name, terciopelo)  It has an olive-brown to dark-brown skin with light color “X” markings along its back and sides. If you encounter one, stand very still until it calms down, then try to get back out of range. If you do get bitten, seek help immediately. The fer-de-lance sometimes strikes first and asks questions later. The king of snakes is the boa constrictor, which kills its prey by crushing it in a tight coil. When you’re hiking, stay on the trail.
You can admire these snakes safely in the serpentarias in San José, Grecia, or Parque Viborana near Turrialba.

Primates

Monkeys are a favorite with tourists and always cause a stir when they pass overhead in trees. They are intelligent, forest-dwelling social animals that travel in extended family groups, called troupes. The three main species you’ll encounter in Costa Rica include the most common, the large howler monkey (mono congo), a black, relatively slow-moving vegetarian primate. The alpha male, with his troupe of up to 20, is usually the biggest of the bunch and if he’s annoyed he’ll let out the growl (a guttural who-who-who) that can be heard for long distances. Be careful standing underneath howlers, they’ll sometimes throw fruit or, worse, try to pee on your head. The white-faced capuchin (mono cara blanca) is a smaller, more rapid, treetop-dwelling insect eater. Their moniker comes from the hood of white fur on their shoulders, chest and face. They can be found on the Caribbean lowlands, and in Osa, Manuel Antonio, Monteverde and Guanacaste.
The blond-chested, black-handed spider monkey (mono araña) is famous for its long prehensile tail, which acts as a third hand. These agile communal monkeys can leap an incredible 10 meters/33 feet from branch to branch.

Cats

The king of the jungle is the jaguar (tigre), the largest of the New World cats. It holds a special place in indigenous culture: it is the form taken by the sun when it descends into the underworld at nightfall. Its image symbolizes power and strength. A male jaguar may reach over six feet in length and can weigh in at 136 kilograms (300 lbs). Its short coat, spotted much like a leopard, ranges from grayish-gold to reddish-tan, with spots grouped in small circles known as rosettes. Unlike the leopard, however, the jaguar’s rosettes surround solid spots. Occasionally, jaguars are black all over. Jaguars feed on tapirs, peccaries, foxes, turtle eggs, rodents, even deer – but rarely man. Because of the dwindling habitat – each big cat requires a forested area of 100 square miles – they are vulnerable to extinction in Central America. The jaguarundi (león breñero) is the smallest cat, with a low-slung long body resembling that of a weasel. Jaguarundi range in color from brown to gray and are slightly larger than a household cat. They stand 14 inches at the shoulders and weigh as much as nine kilograms (20 lbs). A sinuous tail takes up nearly half of the cat’s 35- to 55-inch length. Already a rare animal, it’s becoming rarer as its natural habitat in wild thickets and lowland forests is cut and burned for ranching. The ocelot (manigordo) is one of Latin America’s most beautiful and rare cats, noted for its creamy tan fur and dark spots with open centers. Ocelots usually weigh from 20 to 32 lbs and grow to 33-40 inches in length. Like most wild cats, they maintain territories marked by their scents. They’re solitary ground hunters, but are agile enough to climb trees if threatened. Their main predator is man, who values their fur for coats. They are a protected endangered species – so poachers do the only hunting. The puma, which is also native to the United States and Canada, is otherwise known as the cougar or mountain lion. A full-grown male puma may be nearly as big as a jaguar and weigh 91 kilograms (200 lbs). Its soft fur coat runs from reddish to gray to brown. This big cat is an amazingly agile climber, able to leap 13 meters (40 feet) in length and an astounding five meters (15 feet) high. The puma can successfully drop from a height of 18 meters (56 feet). You’ll have to be very lucky to see any of these felines in the wild; we were thrilled to have a jaguarundi cross our path when we were on the Nicoya Peninsula.

Sloths

The family of edentata, indigenous to the Americas, includes anteaters, armadillos and sloths, a favorite of guides who seem to know all their favorite hang-outs in trees (usually guarumos) along your route. Costa Rica is home to two types of sloths, the often-viewed three-toed sloth, a diurnal animal, and the seldom-seen nocturnal, two-toed sloth. The brown three-toed and rare two-toed sloths are tree-dwelling leaf eaters with an incredibly sluggish, fermentation-based digestive system. They move very slowly to conserve energy, so slowly that their Spanish name is perezoso, which means “lazy.” Anteaters and armadillos are lower to the ground, but harder to find because they’re nocturnal

Turtles

There are five major species of large sea turtles that nest on Costa Rica’s shores, and their mostly nocturnal egg-laying is a wonderful thing to see. But be careful not to disturb them and always go with a licensed, experienced guide. Six of the seven turtle species worldwide are endangered. The green turtle (Tortuga verde) mates and lays its eggs on the beach several times a year. Green turtles are especially common at Tortuguero, where the Caribbean Conservation Corps was begun. They measure about a meter (3.3 feet) in length and weigh 75-200 kilos (165-440 lbs). Loggerheads (cabezona), with their massive bird-jawed skulls, have short fins and grow to a little over one meter (three feet) in length. They nest on other beaches but seem to gather in larger numbers at Playa Grande near Tamarindo. The black, narrow-finned leatherback turtle (baula) is named because of its leathery hide in place of a shell. Leatherbacks grow as large as two meters (six feet) and weigh up to 680 kilos (1,500 lbs). That’s living large! They come ashore on both coasts but especially at Playa Grande near Tamarindo, Tortuguero and the Gandoca Manzanillo Refuge. On the other side of the coin, the hawksbill (carey) is one of the smallest marine turtles at about one meter (three feet) or less and only 91 kilos (200 lbs). Because of its highly valued spindle-shaped tortoise shell, it has been hunted to near-extinction. The Olive Ridley, also called the Pacific Ridley (lora), nests at Ostinal near Playa Nosara and at Playa Nancite in Santa Rosa Park. There is no other sight in the world like a beach full of Ridley turtles storming ashore to nest. To huddle on a deserted beach late at night with only the brush stroke of the Milky Way to illuminate your world is quite an experience. Turtles return to the same beach each year and lay their precious eggs by digging a shallow hole in the sand with their flippers. Any type of unnatural light or noise will disturb the giant lumbering females and can cause them to abort their nest. Once covered over, the hatchlings emerge about 60 days later and crawl toward the surf. If they’re lucky. Between wrong turns and predators – sea gulls, large fish, raccoons, foxes and human poachers – rarely do more than 4-5% grow to maturity. Costa Rican laws severely restrict the harvesting of sea turtles; so if turtle is ever on a restaurant menu, please don’t order it.