Wildlife
Costa Rica supports an enormous variety of
wildlife, due in large part to its geograpic
position between the North and South American
continents, its neotropical climate, and
its wide variety of habitats. Costa Rica
is home to more than 500,000 species, which
represents nearly 4% of the total species
estimated worldwide, making Costa Rica one
of the 20 countries with the highest biodiversity
in the world. Of these 500,000 species, a
little more than 300,000 are insects.
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There are nearly 900 species (600 being resident
and the remainder being migratory) including
macaws, fiery billed and chestnut mandibled
toucans, pelicans, frigates, cormorants,
5 species of kingfisher including the brilliant
emerald amazon, woodpecker, motmots, woodcreepers
and various vultures and hawks. Costa Rica has 10 of the 40 species of trogons:
brightly colored, long-tailed, short-beaked,
pigeon-sized, forest-dwelling tropical birds,
The beautiful, long tail, quetzal is easier
heard than seen and is mostly in the Monteverde
Cloud Forest. They tend to hang out high
in the canopy, swooping down to human eye
level on occasion – mostly when chasing
a female. |
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Costa Rica’s butterfly species make
up approximately 90% of all Central American
butterflies, 66% of neo-tropical butterflies
and 18% of the world’s total butterfly
species. Perhaps the most recognizable of Costa Rica’s
huge butterfly population, the blue morpho
is identified primarily by its electric blue
and black wings, with its brown and
black underside and its lilting, casual flight.
It is the most common morpho in Central America,
and prefers habitats between sea level and
6,000 feet. There are about 1,251 species of butterflies
and at least 8,000 species of moths. |
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Costa Rica is home to around 175 amphibians,
85% of which are frogs and approximately
225 reptiles which includes over 60 species
of lizard. There are about 120 species of
snake of which 20 are poisonous. We saw three types of iguanas – brown,
green and orange and many lizards. The green
basilisk lizard is nicknamed "Jesus
Christ" because of its ability to 'walk
on water' when fleeing predators. When
the punk rocker-looking lizard feels threatened,
it can splay out large fringes on its hind
legs, increasing the surface area of its
feet, and run across the surface of a river
for 65 feet or so. There are also big-headed
anoles, leaf litter geckos and many frogs. |
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There are nearly 250 species of mammal of
which nearly half are bats. White-faced capuchin,
Spider, mantled howler and squirrel monkeys
are present in most of the national parks.
The capuchin and mantled howler can often
be seen from the roadside in other areas
too. Two and three-toed sloths, racoons,
white-nosed coatis, agoutis, anteaters, peccaries (wild pigs) and tapir are other common mammals. Costa Rica has six endangered members of
the cat family - jaguar, jaguarundi, ocelot,
oncilla, puma and margay, all of which are
rarely seen. |
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