Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Costa Rican Fauna (Part 3) - Manuel Antonio National Park

This is the final installment in this three-part series dedicated to the amazing wildlife I witnessed while in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica.  One of our excursion days included a walk around Manuel Antonio National Park.  We hired a tour guide, which I would recommend anyone else visiting this park to do.  The guide could spot animals that, on our own, we would have completely missed.  He also had a telescope with him, which was extremely necessary for how far away, hidden, or small some of the creatures were.  We would have missed so much of the wildlife without the guide.  Many of the close up pictures were taken with an iPhone camera using the telescope's zoom.

Three-Toed Sloth (Perezoso)
Look at that cute little face!




Yes, I know it looks like just a pile of fur, but this is a sloth, I promise.


Common Tent-Making Bat


Green Iguana (Baby)

Helmet Lizard

Jesus Christ Lizard

Red-Eyed Tree Frog (with eyes closed)

Dinosaur Lizard (I'm actually not sure of his real name, but I think my name for him is fitting)

Ctenosaur

Ball of Wasps

Creepy Spider

Howler Monkey
The guys are one of the loudest, if not the loudest, land animals.  They can be heard over 3 miles!

Capuchin Monkeys



Central American Agouti
While this guys just look like big rats, they are a very central part to the ecosystem.  They are food for a lot of larger animals and they help replant the vegetation from the seeds in its droppings.



Manuel Antonio National Park Beach
Voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  A contributing factor is that you have to walk about a mile into the National Park to get to the beach, so there are no cars and roads close by.  What a beautiful place.


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