One thing I quickly learned in Costa Rica: always look up. And down. And honestly, probably inside random coconuts too. Honestly, always have your eyes peeled, because you never know what animal you will see.
Costa Rica is obviously known for its wildlife, but I don’t think I fully understood just how much wildlife I would actually see until I was there. I wasn’t going on some week-long wildlife expedition either. These animals just kept appearing throughout the trip. They were hanging above me in trees, sitting on hotel furniture, crawling through the forest and, in one case, hiding inside a coconut.
Some of them I expected to see. Others I definitely did not.
These are some of the coolest animals I personally spotted during my time in Costa Rica.
1. Mantled Howler Monkey
Let’s start with one of the most iconic animals I saw: the mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata).
If you’ve spent any amount of time near the forests of Costa Rica, there is a pretty good chance you’ve heard these guys before you’ve seen them. They are famous for their ridiculously loud howls, which can carry through the forest and sound way more intimidating than the monkey responsible for making them. I expected a less cute animal to be associated with the noise it made, but I was happily surprised.
Mantled howler monkeys live throughout Costa Rica and have long prehensile tails, meaning they can use their tails almost like an extra limb while moving through trees. We were lucky enough to see this one swing out of view.
I spotted this one tucked into the branches above me, and it almost disappeared into the shadows despite being completely black.
This was also a good reminder that seeing wildlife in Costa Rica sometimes requires patience. You can stare at a tree for five minutes and see absolutely nothing, and then suddenly realize there has been an entire monkey sitting directly above you the whole time. At least it did not try to steal anything from us, because I have encountered some sneaky robbers before.
Wildlife spotting tip: If you hear leaves moving above you, stop and actually look for a minute. Costa Rica rewards people who pay attention.
2. Masked Tree Frog
This little guy might be one of my favorite photos from the entire trip. I used to have a small squishy frog that looked identical to this one, but mine was fake, and this one was very much real!
I believe this is a masked tree frog (Smilisca phaeota), which can be recognized by the dark stripe running from its snout through its eye and the pale stripe along its upper lip. AmphibiaWeb notes that these markings are particularly useful for identifying the species in Costa Rica.
And yes, it really was just sitting perfectly on this giant leaf. Tree frogs are especially fun to look for after dark. Masked tree frogs are associated with rainforest habitats and are often found around ponds, where males become especially vocal at night. I will admit, my eyes did not find this frog on my own. One of our guides pointed it out to me and he even had a book that wrote all about the potential animals we could see in that region.
If you’re taking a Costa Rica night walk, bring a flashlight and pay attention to leaves around eye level. Tiny frogs are surprisingly easy to walk straight past.
3. Halloween Moon Crab
Okay, this one wins for best hiding place.
We found a crab literally tucked inside a coconut. This is another reason why having a guide can be helpful because there is no way I would have found this little dude on my own. Based on its bright orange-red coloring and dark purple body, this appears to be a Halloween moon crab, also called a Halloween crab (Gecarcinus quadratus).
The name makes a lot more sense once you see one. These crabs can have orange or reddish legs, purple claws and a dark carapace covered with colorful markings.
Halloween crabs live primarily on land in coastal forests, despite being crabs, and they spend much of their time in burrows in moist environments. Apparently a coconut works too.
This was one of those wildlife encounters I never would have known to look for beforehand, which is part of what makes Costa Rica so fun. There is always something weird hiding somewhere you would never think to check.
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4. Bare-Throated Tiger-Heron
I am fairly sure the large bird in these photos is a bare-throated tiger-heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum).
First of all, what a name. Second of all, what a beautiful creature!
The striped neck is one of the bird’s most noticeable features, and bare-throated tiger-herons are found from Mexico through Central America into northwestern South America.
They’re wetland birds that can be found around rivers, marshes, mangroves and other watery areas. Their diet can include fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects.
The funniest part about this encounter was how casually this giant bird was standing on the building like it belonged there.
Maybe it did. We saw this bird while having breakfast at Hacienda Guachipelín which is located in the Rincón de la Vieja National Park. We were just sitting having breakfast minding our own business and BAM, this bird wanted attention. My dad became a bird watcher when I went to college so seeing this bird had my jaw on the floor. I may have taken one too many pictures, but wow. Seeing it walk, expand, and stare back at us was truly fascinating.
Costa Rica definitely has a way of making you feel like humans are the visitors and the animals own the place.
5. Juvenile Black Spiny-Tailed Iguana
At first glance, I thought this had to be a baby green iguana.
Plot twist: I think it is actually a juvenile black spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis). Yes, I did have to research all these animals because I am no animal expert.
Young black spiny-tailed iguanas and young green iguanas are both bright green and can look extremely similar. One helpful difference is head shape: black spiny-tailed iguanas tend to have longer, more crocodile-like heads, while green iguanas have rounder heads. The long head and darker bands on the animal in my photo make me lean toward black spiny-tailed iguana. I am always open to an experts advice on this.
Either way, this thing was basically designed for camouflage. Even in my photo, it takes a second to separate the lizard from all of the leaves around it. I spotted this guy while hiking the Las Pailas Trail in the Rincón de la Vieja National Park. If you want to visit the area, I have a whole blog post all about the top adventures to do near Rincón de la Vieja National Park.
6. Variegated Squirrel
Costa Rica somehow managed to make squirrels exciting too.
This is a variegated squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides), and it looked completely different from the gray squirrels I’m used to seeing in the United States. I literally screamed when I saw this. It looks like it could have been a Webkinz. Yes, I did collect those stuffed animals as a kid and this would have fit my collection perfectly.
The orange legs! The white belly! The enormous black-and-white tail!
Variegated squirrels are found throughout much of Central America, including Costa Rica, and their coloring varies dramatically between individuals and subspecies. They can range from nearly black to reddish-brown, gray, white and cinnamon.
This particular one clearly had no issue being around people and was casually exploring the chairs. I also saw similar ones at cafes with porches.
Honestly, I would take these squirrels over the ones raiding trash cans back home any day.
7. Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloth
And obviously, you can’t talk about Costa Rica wildlife without including a sloth.
The one in my photo appears to be a brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus), one of the sloth species found in Costa Rica.
This one was high in a tree, which made photographing it slightly challenging, but seeing a sloth in the wild was still such a classic Costa Rica moment. We were on a bus ride and our driver suddenly pulled over. All of us travelers worried we got a flat tire, but it turned out our driver had a sloth siting and knew we all would be over the moon in joy to see it.
Brown-throated three-toed sloths spend most of their lives in trees, and their long claws help them hang from branches. Their fur even grows in a direction that helps water run off their bodies while they’re hanging upside down.
They really do look exactly like you expect them to: slow, sleepy and completely unbothered by the world.
Basically living the dream.
My Favorite Part About Wildlife Watching in Costa Rica
The coolest thing wasn’t necessarily seeing one specific animal. It was how constant the wildlife was.
A monkey wasn’t something confined to a zoo enclosure. It was sitting above me in a tree.
A giant bird could suddenly land on a roof.
A crab could be hiding inside a coconut.
A colorful squirrel could run across the chair next to me.
And a tiny frog could be sitting quietly on a leaf while I walked right past it.
Costa Rica is one of those places where you start automatically scanning every tree because there is genuinely a chance something is staring back at you.
If you’re visiting Costa Rica and want to see wildlife, my biggest piece of advice is simple: slow down.
Look underneath leaves. Watch the treetops. Listen for movement. Go on at least one night walk. And if someone suddenly stops in the middle of a trail and starts pointing into a tree, stop too.
There is probably something up there.
And sometimes, the random wildlife encounters you weren’t planning for end up becoming some of the best memories from the entire trip! At least they were for me.
