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Renowned for its remarkable biodiversity, Costa Rica is a sanctuary for captivating wildlife species. From its lush rainforests to coastal expanses, diverse ecosystems nurture an array of creatures. The intelligence and comprehension displayed by these species have perpetually intrigued scientists and nature enthusiasts. Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Costa Rican wildlife and experience the delicate balance of its ecosystems, a testament to the beauty of nature’s intricacy.
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Pacific Screech Owl
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]The Pacific screech-owl (Megascops cooperi) is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. With nocturnal and crepuscular habits, it hunts...
Howler Monkeys: Fascinating Creatures of Costa Rica’s Forests
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]When it comes to the diverse wildlife found in the forests of Central and South America, one creature stands out for its distinctive calls and intriguing behavior — the howler monkey. Here, we will explore the fascinating...
Sloth’s Poetic Serenity
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title="Sloth Tours in Costa Rica" color="success"...
Fred’s Bird Adventures
[vc_row css=".vc_custom_1671810619211{background-color: #ffffff !important;}"][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] The Sulphur-Winged Parakeet Bird in Brief The Sulphur-Winged Parakeet (Pyrrhura hoffmanni) Also known as Hoffman’s conure or the sulfur-winged...
Kingfishers: The Halcyon Love Birds
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Kingfishers: The Halcyon Love Birds. Photo Caption: The common kingfisher, also known as the Eurasian kingfisher, is confined to those continents and parts of northern Africa. This article highlights the species that birdwatchers...
What’s that huge nest in the tree?
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] What's that big nest in the trees? Hornets? Wasps? Flies? Ants? Good try, they are termites. Termites are small insects that are found throughout Costa Rica. They are known for their ability to eat away at wood...
Coatis the Clowns of the Forest
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Oh, the adorable Coatis of Costa Rica! These charming creatures never fail to captivate the hearts of visitors with their endearing antics and lovable nature. When you encounter a coati in the wild, prepare yourself for a...
Motmots of Costa Rica
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Motmots are proof that common birds are not necessarily common looking. A stunning family of birds — one or more of the six motmot types — are readily found in and along the edges of forests throughout Costa Rica. Both...
Rufous-Vented Ground-Cuckoo
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Rarely Seen Roadrunner Relative For birders with a “life list” of sighting dreams come true, the rufous-vented ground-cuckoo will commonly disappoint. Reports of fleeting glimpses have always been rare, even among the...
Check Out These Seven Amazing Jaguar Facts
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Costa Rica’s jaguars are both mighty and mysterious. What we know about these unique big cats is fascinating. What we don’t know might be even more intriguing. GoEco’s Jaguar Research and Conservation program aims to...
Whale Spotting on Many Bucket Lists
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]One of the most sought-after experiences in Costa Rica is watching a whale breach the surface of the Pacific. Better yet, a pod of whales gliding on the surface. Everyone wants to know, "Will we see one?" No guarantees...
These Bees Don’t Sting
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Unlike My Bee Farm Visit Part 1, in last month’s Howler, this story will not start with, “Owww!” That’s because mariola bees, which I’ll talk about here in Part 2, can’t sting. You may ask what mariola bees are. Well,...
Birds of Gondwanaland?
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Next time you are at a bird feeder in Costa Rica, or walking in the jungle, enjoy the knowledge that flying all around you is a living history of the planet. As someone with a degree in geology and a passion for birds,...
My Bee Farm Visit
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3" css=".vc_custom_1679446951471{background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.49) !important;*background-color: rgb(255,255,255) !important;}"][vc_column_text]Howler is delighted to feature this first-hand account of an 11-year-old’s journey in...
Monkeying Around In Costa Rica
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] There are four types of monkeys in Costa Rica, and three of them can be found in the wild in the Guanacaste region. The four species of monkeys native to Costa Rica are the white-faced capuchin (mono cariblanco), spider...
Rare Albino Whale in Costa Rica Draws Waves of Global Attention
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]What aerial photographer Felipe Chávez initially mistook for ocean trash was actually so extraordinary that the resulting waves of international attention took some time to calm down. “An incredibly rare albino humpback...
Wild Side of Costa Rica
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_column_text]Costa Rica is home to hundreds of wildlife species. Thanks to Guanacaste Wildlife Monitoring, you can watch dozens of the creatures through their live video segments. Howler offers a variety of articles on wildlife. Enjoy...
Snowbirds In Paradise
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]After spending all our lives enduring the cold Canadian winters of western Canada, my wife, Donna, and I decided to make the giant step toward living part-time in Costa Rica's paradise. I had worked as a surface landman...
Sunbitterns: A Spectacular Sight to Seek in Costa Rica
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]One of the more sought-after prizes for birding tourists here in Costa Rica is the sunbittern (Eurypyga helias ). Found in a range extending south from Guatemala and throughout South America. It lives near water in...
Operation Sailfish
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Did you know Costa Rica still allows the commercial harvest of over 16,000 sailfish per year for consumption? With more than 150,000 tourists traveling here each year to catch and release their dream fish, our country is...
Wildlife of Costa Rica
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text] The Wildlife: read all our stories It’s no wonder that nature is the key reason why four in 10 international tourists come to Costa Rica. That’s because the country’s extraordinary abundance and diversity of wildlife,...
Costa Rica’s Newest and Rarest Animal
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]One of our planet's rarest and most secretive animal species — the bush dog (Speothos venaticus) — was recently discovered on the Pacific slopes of Costa Rica’s Talamanca Mountains, near the Panama border. The BriBri, Cabecar and...
Expat Birds of Costa Rica
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]How many of you came to Costa Rica to visit … and decided to not go home? Here in Costa Rica, humans are not alone in making this their new home. A variety of Costa Rican birds are also “expats.” For...
Ten Species Inhabit Costa Rican Waters
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A Playground for Whales: Ten Species Inhabit the Waters for Whale Watching in Costa Rica. The Caribbean and Pacific Oceans, embracing Costa Rica on its opposite shores, are both teeming with life. Ten species of whales call these...
On the Wings of Butterflies
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] BEST COSTA RICA ADVENTURE DEALS [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] When visitors come to Costa Rica, they are often thinking more about monkeys and toucans and sloths, rather than...
The Sweet and Slow Sloth
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] BEST COSTA RICA ADVENTURE DEALS [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]In July 2021, the universally popular sloth was officially designated as a national symbol of Costa Rica. Of...
Caño Negro Glistens in the Rainy Season
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Years ago, a day boat trip on the Rio Frio from La Fortuna to the Nicaraguan border introduced me to Caño Negro, a premiere bird-watching locale. On that trip, one of my fellow passengers would shout,...
Ecotourist Road Trip: Sarapiquí Rafting, Rainforest Adventures and Wildlife
A Road Trip to Sarapiquí: The Other Side of the Mountain Sarapiquí is an ecotourist’s dream — a vast expanse of tropical rainforest teeming with animals, bursting with vegetation and mercifully spared from the mega resorts and hordes of tourists found in many parts of...
Dangerous Duo : Fer-de-Lance and Brazilian Wandering Spider
[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text]Bottom line — keep your eyes open and be aware of your surroundings. The potentially deadly danger posed by both of these featured creatures comes from being in a human’s rightful place at the wrong time. Fer-de-lance...
Entangled in Costa Rica a Whale Rescue Documentary
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]When we, Pipa and Coco from The Vegan Pirates, first met Yulian Cordero on a dive trip to Isla del Caño, a small island in the south Pacific region of Costa Rica, we didn't know it would change the course of the next...
Coatis in Costa Rica
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]Costa Rica is home to the largest species of coati, Nasua narica, known as the white-nosed coati. They are very fun to watch and are the clowns of the forest. These animals can grow to 120 cm long, their large, bushy tail...
When a Finch is Not a Finch
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]If you come to Costa Rica, count on eventually becoming attracted to the beautiful birds here. With over 900 to see, it can become a serious hobby. As a photographer first, I developed my love for birds here. There is...
Hope for the Humpbacks and More Endangered Whales
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Spanish Text below by CPI! To swim 16,000 miles is an impressive feat by any standard, but to do this on an empty stomach and while pregnant is truly remarkable. Granted, the humpback whale has a significant size advantage over...
Jaguar King of the Cats
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/2"][vc_column_text]Jaguars are the largest feline species in Costa Rica and the third-largest on the planet, next to lions and tigers. Average size varies by geographic location, with larger jaguars tending to live in habitats further...
Leatherbacks : A Close to Home Concern
The leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all surviving turtle species. It’s also the fourth heaviest reptile, with three species of crocodile weighing more. Leatherbacks are differentiated from other sea turtles by their lack of a bony shell. Instead, the top...
Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center (See the beautiful photos below. Click here for puzzles of the animals.) Recently, I was contacted by Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center and asked if I could use my photography skills to help Costa Rican...
Ants need a new PR
Ants of CR could use better PR According to The Encyclopedia Britannica, ants are second only to human beings as the most social and communal animals on earth. Some philosophers and myrmecologists (scientists who study ants) have suggested that this order...
Quetzal
[uxgallery id="1"] It's Quetzal Time! Ripe Avocados Make San Gerardo de Dota a Birding Paradise The small wild avocados, known in Spanish as aguacatillos, are ripe in San Gerardo de Dota. To us birders, that means "It's quetzal time!" The resplendent...
Nine-Banded Armadillo
The nine-banded armadillo is a fascinating medium-sized mammal. It is one of the official state animals of Texas. Its ancestors originated in South America in a wide range of habitats from rainforest to grassland and dry scrub. It was the development of the Isthmus of...
