Costa Rica is one of the most popular destinations for nature lovers coming from the USA or Canada, for good reason. There are very few countries in the world that pack so much wildlife and biodiversity into such a small area. Thanks to its narrow footprint on a land bridge between the Americas and its progressive environmental policies, this small nation hosts five percent of all animal species on the planet.
From the top of the border with Nicaragua to the bottom on the border with Panama, this country’s land is mostly wild and protected, dotted with large parks and preserves where the wildlife of Costa Rica can run free.
This is not the Costa Rica that most “sun and fun” vacationers see, however. In crowded spots like Monteverde Cloud Forest and Manuel Antonio National Park, the crowds that arrive by the busload do not mix well with shy creatures, especially in the middle of the day. In Manuel Antonio, the problem is the opposite: monkeys that are so accustomed to tourists that they’ll snatch your bag or go digging in your pockets for food.
To see the Costa Rica wildlife that’s not hooked on easy handouts, you need to go deeper into nature, into the places that require a little more effort to reach. You can accomplish this without giving up your creature comforts though by one of two methods. You can stay in a luxury lodge that’s next to or in a nature reserve, or you can connect with a good tour company like Sundowner Holidays that sets up luxury safari holidays in Africa and upscale wildlife tours in Latin America.
Wondering what you might see on your nature vacation in Costa Rica? Well, plenty of interesting rainforest plants, of course, some of them used for centuries as medical cures. You won’t have to search very hard for animals either though, so here’s a sampling of what you could spot on your adventure travel trip, with some original photos of our own from previous trips.
Some animals are quite elusive, especially the big cats like jaguars and pumas roaming Corcovado National Park, but the slow sloths, various monkeys, and colorful birds are a different story.
Mammals in Costa Rica
While the locals might not even notice when a coati or agouti ambles by, to foreign eyes these are exotic animals and you’re almost sure to see a few when you visit Costa Rica. On par with possums and raccoons up north in numbers, these creatures are often wandering the grounds of the resorts or seen on easy walking trails.
Tapirs are frequently spotted as well, with the Baird’s Tapir sometimes reaching a size of 250 kilograms. It’s not hard to find the wild pig species known as collared peccary. You’ll often hear them snorting loudly before you get to a clearing and see them.
Anteaters come in two varieties: giant and “silky.”
Sloths are a symbol of Costa Rica and it’s a rare trip to any dense wooded area when you don’t spot one. They move very slowly in everything they do, so if a guide spotted one two weeks ago, he can probably take you back to the same spot and score a sighting. Some have two toes on their feet, some have three.
Costa Rica boasts four species of monkeys, with the most common being the white-faced capuchin. The one you’ll hear most often, however, is the loud howler monkey, which sounds like some scary monster ready to wreak havoc.
The howler monkey is not so scary up close as it sounds from a distance, however. This one I spotted seemed plenty mellow:
Harder to spot are the two versions of spider monkeys, smaller and less likely to get up close to humans. They’re usually jumping between tree branches beside waterways or in the jungle.
Also spotted regularly are two kinds of armadillos, multiple bats, and the weasel-like tayra.
The Birds of Costa Rica
If you know anyone who is a serious birdwatcher, odds are they have been to this country several times. Few nations can boast so many species of birds within their borders, especially a country where you could fly from top to bottom in an hour. Tiny Costa Rica has more birds than all of the USA and Canada added together.
Around 200 types of birds live in both places though: they will migrate here when it’s cold up north and will then return in the warmer months. The big marquee birds to see here are tropical. While toucans seem quite exotic to visitors from up north, they’re quite common in many jungle areas here, especially in the Osa Peninsula near Lapa Rios. Parrots, motmots, and 39 types of hawks are common too.
I have also spotted more scarlet macaws than I can count in different regions of the country, sometimes while just taking a walk along the coast. The huge jabiru stork is hard to miss and you’ll see many large sea birds and wading birds like cormorants, stilts, boobies, and oystercatchers. The resplendent quetzal is elusive and mainly confined to the cloudforest areas.
Easier to find on land are the numerous hummingbirds, the quail-like tinamous, and noisy chachalacas.
Lizards and Amphibians
This country is filled with all kinds of lizards and amphibians including 74 species of frogs, many of them quite colorful. You don’t want to pick them up though: some excrete a powerful poison, the kind used in poison arrows for hunting in the days before firearms.
Going frog-spotting is a popular pursuit from the Costa Rica jungle lodges and you might see a red-eyed tree frog, one of the semi-transparent glass frogs, or one of the colorful poison dart frogs.
Toads are also numerous and some of those are quite interesting too. The giant toad will do whatever it takes to stay giant: this species will eat anything it can digest it seems, from mice to insects to vegetables.
Five of the world’s seven varieties of sea turtles lay their eggs on the beaches of Costa Rica and most beaches are off-limits to any vehicles so that the nests are protected. At some resorts and on some tours, you can watch a hatching as the babies head to the surf or you can participate in a controlled release that aims to up their odds of survival.
You’ll surely spot some lizards scampering across a trail or bobbing their heads on a ledge. Some are small but interesting like the basilisks that are dragon-like, then you’ll see huge green iguanas lumbering along the ground or climbing a tree.
You’ll want to avoid some of the snakes, especially the deadly and aggressive fer-de-lance, which lives throughout the country. The eyelash viper and various coral snakes are also venomous. See a complete list here, with identifying photos.
Other Types of Wildlife
This country is a haven for butterflies too, with more than 1,250 species of them fluttering around—more than 10% of all butterflies worldwide. I had to slow down my rental car when driving to Punta Islita in the Nicoya Peninsula so I didn’t keep whacking them because they were so thick. The large Blue Morpho butterfly is the most dramatic, but others create a riot of color around flowers they are pollinating.
More than 8,000 types of moths make this Central American country their home, something you’ll surely notice at night by your windows and outdoor lights if you’re sleeping in the jungle.
This list covering the wildlife of Costa Rica doesn’t count the huge variety of creatures you’ll find in the water off the coasts. I’m not including them here since we’re talking about what is found in Costa Rica rather than swimming by. If you get out on the water or go diving, however, you might spot multiple whales, manatees, sharks, sea lions, seals, and sailfish.
For more information, see our luxury Costa Rica travel section on the magazine side of our site. There’s a link from there to reviews of the top lodges in the country.
Article and all photos by editor Tim Leffel.
