Costa Rica’s success with wildlife can be greatly attributed to its location, climatic conditions and the large variety of enticing scenery. The name Costa Rica can basically be translated to Rich Coast and this can be clearly seen when you visit this place.
Many have been known to refer to it as a vacations paradise due to its amazing features.
Among these features are cloud forests in the mountains, volcanic features, a variety of species which goes up to 500,000 different kinds with insects being the majority. Regardless of the fact that Costa Rica’s is only 0.03% of the world’s land occupation, they harbor a large number of wildlife animals. Tourists have been known to come from all over the world just to have an opportunity to explore the Costa Rica wildlife which is unique; like no other.
Birds are some of the creatures that you can enjoy watching while visiting this country. Its diverse variety is really quite something that is out of this world. The list ranges from hawks, kites, sparrows, hummingbirds to pelicans, herons and kingfishers. Most of these birds can only be found in this particular part of the world. There are some of these birds that migrate and move out of the country but only for a specific season, then come back. A larger portion however are non-migrants and spend all their time in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica Wildlife
Mammals are the minority group of species in Costa Rica’s wildlife. They are however always a great attraction. Their low numbers can be attributed to gradual encroachment into their haven and hunting. Monkeys contribute to the Costa Rican wildlife in a big way. There are four known species.
They include the white faced monkey, spider monkey, Squirrel monkey and the howler monkey. Since you might not be able to see all animals during the day; some are nocturnal, it is advisable to also tour during the night.
Bats are also included in the Costa Rica wildlife community and they also come in large numbers. This may be fueled by the fact that they can comfortably fir into the lifestyle with food being in adequate supply. Their diet includes insects and nectar. Famous bats that are likely to be seen during the tours are the Honduran white bat and the spectral bat among others. One can not forget reptiles in the Costa Rica wildlife list with snakes being in the top list; the Boa and viper. A large variety of lizards can be sighted in the forests. Turtles and crocodilians are also a common feature in the Costa Rican wildlife.
When it comes to the amphibians, there are not many with frogs taking up 85% of their total. Salamanders and the caecilian take up the rest.
These however, are not the only species that can be observed. A diverse and unique array of species is found in Costa Rica with most of them being endangered in other parts of the world. They include the sloth, tapir, coatis, kinkajou, agouti and many others.
