Costa Rica is wild!

Posted on 27. Apr, 2011 by Dany in Central America, Costa Rica, Photo Essay, Photography

We have seen ‘exotic’ wildlife in every Central American country, but not in the abundance we had imagined – a few snakes in Mexico, the sea life in Belize, some howler monkeys in Guatemala, a few macaws in Honduras, a bunch of spider monkeys in Nicaragua.

This all changed once we crossed the border to Costa Rica – this country is wild! Our wildlife sightings increased instantly, and in every place we visited, the mountains of Monteverde, the beaches of the Caribbean or Manuel Antonio on the Pacific coast, we spotted sloths, coatis, huge Golden Orb spiders, frogs, colorful crabs, snakes and bright Blue Morpho butterflies, tiny hummingbirds and huge iguanas.

Here is a selection of our favorite wildlife photos from our time in Costa Rica:

The monkeys in Manuel Antonio were the cheekiest in all of Costa Rica. They ignored the tourists…

and spent a lot of time just hanging around…

In Manuel Antonio we also spotted some sloths sleeping high up in the trees:

… but in Monteverde we didn’t even need to search – one just lived across from our hostel in the trees by the road and used the electricity wires as a shortcut on the way home:

In Monteverde, we also ‘met’ a curious coati (anteater) in the woods:

Costa Rica is also known for its great variety of butterflies, especially the Blue Morpho, but also colorful ones like this:

We saw several snakes during our stay in Costa Rica – can you spot this tiny green snake in this picture?
The crabs we saw in Cahuita on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast were the most colorful ones we’ve ever seen anywhere:

Near the village of Manzanillo we saw hundreds of huge Golden Orb spiders sitting in their webs:
In Monteverde, the spiders were living in the ground – you will see lots of tarantula nests:

This iguana enjoyed the views of the Pacific ocean:

…while this big iguana hung out at the beach:

Costa Rica is also a birdwatchers’ paradise, being home to rare species such as the blue crowned mot mot:
… and countless hummingbirds:

Raccoons might be less exotic, but still extremely cute!

Click through our Flickr slideshow for more animal pictures from Costa Rica:

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Tags: costa rica, manuel antonio, wildlife

9 Responses to “Costa Rica is wild!”

Scott - Quirky Travel Guy

29. Apr, 2011

I love the crabs… and seeing a wild anteater would be oddly thrilling, I think.
Scott – Quirky Travel Guy recently posted..See rock &amp roll history at Sun Studio in Memphis

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- jess
  
  30. Apr, 2011
  
  The crabs were huge!!! And so colorful! The anteaters are officially called Coatis, and are from the same family as the anteaters…
  
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Mica

30. Apr, 2011

Aww Ladies the pictures are gorgeous! The very first one of the monkeys is precious! I love the hummingbirds and butterflies…Seriously, now you’re adding another CA country we have to stop in. What a funky looking anteater! I adopted one in Venezuela and I loved her-Dulce was her name. I miss her. Alot.
Mica recently posted..A day in Semana Santa at Copacabana

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- jess
  
  30. Apr, 2011
  
  Hi Mica – a lot of budget travelers skip Costa Rica because it can be more expensive than the other countries in CA, and while that is true, it blew our minds there as to the amount of wildlife. Between the animals and the beaches, we’d say don’t skip CR, just do your research first! Let us know if you need any advice!
  
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jill- Jack and Jill Travel The World

30. Apr, 2011

What a crazy wild country, it is. Love the pics of the sloth, hope it won’t get electrocuted.
jill- Jack and Jill Travel The World recently posted..The Restaurant With An Identity Crisis

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- jess
  
  30. Apr, 2011
  
  Hey guys – actually, this poor little guy had had an electric shock recently, and was crawling around with three out of four limbs. We felt terrible for him, but the locals said he was recovering well!
  
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crazy sexy fun traveler

29. Apr, 2012

Love all these shots! So looking forward to see all those animals soon
crazy sexy fun traveler recently posted..ROME GELATOS

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- jess
  
  30. Apr, 2012
  
  Oh, you definitely will! There really are wild animals everywhere, more than anywhere else in Central America for sure!
  
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