Exploring Costa Rica
Costa Rica has a lot of amazing creatures. My family and I discovered everything from tiny dart frogs to HUGE crocodiles when we went there on holiday. It was so much fun, and I can’t wait to go back. Most of the pictures taken in this gallery are from the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, but we visited the Pacific side too. I hope you like learning about the animals of Costa Rica as much as I did.
- JD
P.S. My family and I took all the pictures in this gallery ourselves!
Sloth - Perezoso
Look carefully up into the trees and you may see a sloth. They move very slowly and usually only come down to the ground to poop! There are both Three-toed and Two-toed sloths in Costa Rica.
HUUUUGE bugs!
There are creepy crawlies everywhere, and in the rainforest, they grow enormous! I’m glad the mosquitoes at home don’t get this big.
Green iguana - Iguana verde
Green Iguanas can grow to more than 2 metres long. We were on a tour of a local rescue centre and a wild iguana fell out of the tree and landed on the ground right next to our group. It sat there for a few seconds, then took off super fast. Some people eat the wild iguanas and their populations are declining.
Reptiles catching some sun!
They love the warm temperatures of Costa Rica.
Crocodile - Cocodrilo
On our way to Jaco on the west coast of Costa Rica, there were a lot of people standing on a bridge looking down into the water. We stopped, and WOW! The water was full of gigantic crocodiles! Definitely not a good place to go swimming. They can grow to more than 4 metres long. In 2016, the tiny country of Costa Rica was second to Brazil in the number of crocodile attacks on humans.
Black and Green Dart Frog - Ranita venenosa vertinegra
The Black and Green Dart Frog is poisonous, so if you touch them, you have to wash your hands. They are very common and beautiful and small. They are less than 3cm long.
sh your hands. They are very common and beautiful and small. They are less than 3cm long.
Leaf Cutter Ants
Leaf Cutter Ants are farmers! They don’t eat the leaves. They take the leaves back to their nests where the leaves help grow a fungus. They eat the fungus! They are so busy, they create their own trails. Can you imagine carrying something that much bigger than you all day, every day?