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Wildlife Watching

Tags cloud forests, rainforests, wildlife, national parks and reserves, bird & wildlife watching

The rare, the mystical, the brilliant and the cuddly hide in the foliage of the Costa Rican rainforest. Many nature lovers come to Costa Rica looking for just one animal: a sloth chewing on a fistful of leaves, a capuchin monkey jumping between tree branches or a chance to see the resplendent quetzal's azure and ruby plumage. While searching, they'll encounter approximately five percent of the world's biodiversity inside in a country the size of West Virginia – .03 percent of the world's surface.

A volunteer at Hacienda Baru stands on the roots of an enormous kapok tree on August 21, 2013. Researches from Hacienda Baru estimate this tree to be around 500 years old.
A black and green poison dart frog sits on a leaf at the Hacienda Baru Wildlife Refuge on August 21, 2013.
A three toed sloth reclining in a cecropia tree on August 20, 2013.
A male howler monkey eats leaves over the Palma Canal on September 21, 2013.
A three toed sloth sleeps in a cecropia tree at Mawamba Lodge on September 21, 2013.
A young spider monkey hangs upside looking for fruit at Turtle Beach Lodge on September 15, 2013.
A boa constrictor slithers through the grass at Mawamba Lodge on September 21, 2013.
A collared aracari perches in a tree on September 24, 2013.
A green iguana stretches out on a branch above the Tortuguero River on September 21, 2013.
A baby green heron looks for its mother above the Tortuguero Lagoon on September 24, 2013.
An adult green heron stalks through the grass looking for bugs to use at bait for catching minnows in Tortuguero National Park on September 21, 2013.
A juvenile crested heron walks along the forest floor near the river's edge in Tortuguero National Park on September 21, 2013.
A capuchin monkey looks for fruit in the trees at Evergreen Lodge on September 25, 2013.
A black and green poison dart frog sits on a dead leaf in the frog garden at Mawamba Lodge on September 21, 2013.
A blue jean poison dart frog sits in a bromeliad at Evergreen Lodge on September 25, 2013.
A red eyed green tree frog perches on a guide's finger at Evergreen Lodge on September 25, 2013.
A tree frog falls asleep on a leaf at Turtle Beach Lodge on September 16, 2013.
A caiman wades in shallow water on a night tour in a canal near Turtle Beach Lodge on September 16, 2013.
A keel billed toucan perched in a tree above the cabins at Anhinga Lodge on September 23, 2013.
A two toed sloth and its baby hang upside down in a tree at Turtle Beach Lodge on September 16, 2013.
A northern jacana walks across the lily pads in Tortuguero National Park on September 19, 2013.
A green basilisk lizard sits in the shade beside the Penitencia River on September 21, 2013.
A boat billed heron watches over its young (not pictured) at Turtle Beach Lodge on September 16, 2013.
A blue heron wades through shallow waters looking for prey in Tortuguero National Park on September 19, 2013.
A ringed kingfisher perches on a tree branch above the Palma Canal on September 21, 2013.
A baby green sea turtle scampers toward the ocean at Tortuguero Beach on September 24, 2013.
A capuchin monkey sits in a tree inside Cahuita National Park on Oct. 12, 2013.
A common black hawk perches in a tree among the coastal forest in the Gandoca Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge on Oct.17, 2013.
A chestnut mandible toucan looks curiously into the camera on a tour at the Jaguar Rescue Center on Oct. 9, 2013.
A young two toed sloth crawls along a branch at the Jaguar Rescue Center on Oct. 9, 2013.

Last updated: Oct 19, 2023

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