Natural Wonders of Costa Rica : Wild life of Costa Rica

Resplendent Quetzal

Wildlife of Costa Rica comprises of all naturally occurring animals, fungi and plants that reside in this Central American country. Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of wildlife, due in large part to its geographic position between the North and South American continents, its neotropical climate, and its wide variety of habitats. It is home to more than 500,000 species, which represents nearly 4% of the total species estimated worldwide -- one of the highest biodiversity in the world. Of these 500,000 species, a little more than 300,000 are insects. (Speaking of insects, we saw only occasional mosquitoes - even near water. Mosquitoes are not a problem at higher elevations such as 7000 feet at Trogon Lodge at San Gerardo de Dota.)

Costa Rica being on the land bridge connecting the North and South American continents allowed the very different flora and fauna of the two continents to mix. Having oceans on both sides bringing in clouds and rain to a landscape rising from sea level to as high as 12,500 ft along the mountain spine of the country, creates an ecosystem where rain forest can exist at the sea level at Osa Peninsula, minutes away from hot, sunny beaches. We visited Cerro de la Muerte, the highest point in the Costa Rican section of the Inter-American Highway at 11,322'. The climate there - and therefore, wildlife - was completely different than on the sunny Pacific beaches.

Wildlife we saw is captured in images below:

Insects - Butterflies and moths, stingless bees, ants such as leaf-cutter ants and army ants, Hercules beetle, and many katydids.

Colored grasshopper in a tree

Palm-sized spider on the ceiling

Large spider web (zoom in)

Leaf cutter ants

Red crab on a fallen log

Red Crab close up

Sand crab

Spider in his decorative web - close up

Spider in his decorative web

Another large spider, large web

Yellow butterfly on green leaf
Other invertebrates (including spiders and crabs) - Invertebrate species make up most of Costa Rica’s wildlife. There are tens of thousands of insects and microscopic invertebrates in every land type and elevation level. However, they are largely unnoticed or unidentified.
Clams, Mollusks, snails and octopus - terrestrial gastropods and numerous freshwater gastropods and bivalves.
Amphibians - Notable frog species in Costa Rica include red-eyed tree frog, a few species of poison dart frogs, the semitransparent glassfrogs, and the large smoky jungle frog.

Green and black frog

Green frog with Red Eyes - Monte Verde

Green frog asleep

Reptiles - Approximately 225 reptiles are found in Costa Rica. This includes over 70 species of lizards, mostly small, forest-dwelling anoles. Large lizards such as the striped basilisk, black iguana and green iguana are probably the country's most regularly encountered reptiles. Snakes number about 120 species in the country, including 5 powerful boas and a wide diversity of harmless colubrids. There are about 20 venomous snakes, including colorful coral snakes and various vipers such as the common eyelash viper and two formidable, large bushmasters. The venomous snakes of Costa Rica are often observed without a problem if given a respectful distance. Among turtles, 5 of the world's 7 species of sea turtles nest on the nation's beaches. Two crocodilians, the widespread spectacled caiman and the large, sometimes dangerous American crocodile are found in Costa Rica. The country's reptiles range in size from the delicate 6 in Hallowell's centipede snake of the Tantilla genus to the hulking leatherback turtle, at 1100 lb and 60 in.

Brown Tree Boa after shedding its skin (zoom in to see boa) The boa is able to be active at dusk or night because it can hold body temperature without basking in the sun. While active, younger boas are more likely to move through the trees while larger ones tend to stay on the ground.

Tree Boa Skin

Brown Tree Boa

Iguana

Lizard

Caimans lounging around Tarcoles River which forms the northern boundary to the Carara National park.

Mammals - Costa Rica is home to nearly 250 species of mammals. Medium-sized forest-dwelling mammals are often the most appreciated mammalian fauna of the country. These include four species of monkeys such as the frantic white-headed capuchin, noisy mantled howlers, squirrel monkey and spider monkey; two species of sloths - two toed and three toed; the opportunistic white-nosed coati; and the fierce predator, the tayra.

Squirrel monkeys

White faced capuchin monkey

Wong end of a spider monkey
Baby spider monkey

Another spider monkey

Coatis on the road - Lake Arenal
Tapir asleep

Tapir close up

One is very hard to find, yet we found TWO tapir asleep!

Pigs crossing the road

Pig in bushes

Porcupine in a tree

Two toed sloth at night

Two toed Sloth

Three toed sloth - green with algae

Turtles mating - see another one waiting in the wings
Bats comprise more than half of the mammal species in the country, unusually outnumbering rodents twice over. We saw a few up in trees, under bridge, and flying on water near Sierpe eating flying insects.
Large fauna, such as tapir, jaguar, and deer are rarely encountered, being both elusive and tied to now-fragmented undisturbed habitats. Costa Rican mammals range in size from the 3-gram thumbless bat of the Furipteridae family to the 250 kg (550 lb) Baird's tapir - we were lucky enough to see TWO of them together (above.)
Anteaters are common in lowland and middle elevation throughout Costa Rica.
Wild cats: jaguars, ocelots, pumas, jaguarundi, margays, and little spotted cats - good to talk about, rarely encountered.
Birds: 894 bird species have been recorded in Costa Rica (including Cocos Island), more than all of the United States and Canada combined. More than 600 of the Costa Rican species are permanent residents, and the rest are migrants, spending portions of the year outside of the country, usually in North America. Costa Rica's birds range in size from the scintillant hummingbird, at 2.2 grams and 6 cm (2.4 in), to the huge jabiru, at 6.5 kg (14.3 lb) and 150 cm (60 in). The scarlet macaw is a native inhabitant of Costa Rica. The resplendent quetzal, a trogon with a stunning physical appearance, can also be found in parts of Costa Rica. The bird's long grey and black tail feathers can stretch up to a meter long and are its defining feature. The mangrove hummingbird is endemic to Costa Rica and specializes in feeding from the tea mangrove plant with its uniquely shaped beak. Hummingbird species demonstrate adaptation with bill shape and size. Certain species have specialized bills that allow them to feed from the flowers of certain species of plants. Did you know that hummingbird has a long tongue (as long as its beak) that can be stretched out to get nectar?

Scarlet Macaw in the nest

McCaw

Hummingbird in flight

Egret dining

Egrets

Egrets retired for the evening

Egrets

Pelican in the tree

Pelicans in formation

Pelicans - Costa Rica's Air Force

Quetzal

Quetzal's long tail

Owl