Costa Rica wildlife: a complete guide

In a world where wildlife habitats are rapidly shrinking, Costa Rica stands out. This small Central American nation has become synonymous with conservation, creating protected areas that support a huge range of plant and animal life. Despite being smaller than West Virginia, it has an incredible variety of ecosystems. Here’s our guide to Costa Rica wildlife.

The ecosystems of Costa Rica

For a small country, Costa Rica is home to a huge variety of landscapes. It takes up just 0.03% of the Earth's landmass but is home to nearly 5% of the world's biodiversity. With 12 different ecosystems, you could start your morning in a tropical dry forest, drive through a cloud forest by midday, and end your day in a rainforest — something impossible in most countries where similar ecosystems would be thousands of miles apart.

• Rainforests & jungles: Dense, humid forests like those in Corcovado and Tortuguero are home to jaguars, howler monkeys, and scarlet macaws. Towering trees create layered habitats, while the forest floor stays damp and full of amphibians, reptiles, and other species found nowhere else. This is also where you will find the best waterfalls in Costa Rica.
• Beaches & coastal reserves: Both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts are important nesting sites for endangered sea turtles. Mangrove forests along the shore act as natural barriers against storms and serve as nurseries for marine life. 
• Cloud forests & highlands: These high-altitude forests capture moisture from passing clouds, creating a humid environment where epiphytes, orchids, and bromeliads thrive.
• Wetlands & rivers: In places like Palo Verde and Caño Negro, wetlands become gathering spots for wildlife during the dry season. American crocodiles and spectacled caimans live in the waterways, while wading birds feed along the shore
• Páramo: Above 10,000 feet (3,000m), the páramo is a rugged, high-altitude environment found on mountains like Chirripó. The thin air, extreme temperatures, and high UV exposure create tough conditions, shaping a landscape of hardy, low-growing plants adapted to these challenges.
• Volcanic ecosystems: sitting on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Costa Rica has a chain of volcanoes that create distinct environments. Around active volcanoes like Arenal and Poás, plants and animals gradually return to areas affected by past eruptions. Mineral-rich soils, hot springs, and steam vents create conditions where specialized species can survive.

What animals can you see?

There is an extraordinary amount of Costa Rica wildlife, with over 500,000 species in this small nation, and seeing it in real life is the best things to do in Costa Rica. Sitting between North and South America, it acts as a natural bridge, bringing together animals from both continents. This makes a fantastic melting pot across all animal groups.

Mammals

Costa Rica's forests are anything but quiet. Three-toed sloths barely move as they cling to tree branches, dozing for most of the day. Monkeys—four different species—swing through the canopy, usually heard before they're seen. Deep in Corcovado National Park, there's a slim chance of spotting a jaguar, the region's top predator. More common, though, is the Baird's tapir, a stocky, odd-looking relative of the horse and rhinoceros that loves lounging in muddy pools.

Many mammals are most active at dawn and dusk, but a nighttime hike is the best way to see the creatures that hide during the day. That's when kinkajous, ocelots, and other elusive nocturnal animals emerge.

Sloths

Costa Rica is home to both two-toed and three-toed sloths, giving you double the chance to spot these slow-moving creatures. Three-toed sloths are easier to see in daylight, often appearing as grayish-brown balls high in cecropia trees. They come down just once a week for bathroom breaks—a dangerous journey that accounts for half of sloth fatalities in the wild.

The best places to find them include Manuel Antonio National Park, Tortuguero, and the Osa Peninsula. Look up, move slowly, and scan the canopy—your guide will likely spot them before you do. Despite their reputation for laziness, sloths are excellent swimmers and can turn their heads nearly 180 degrees. Sloths are a great hit with kids (read more in our guide to Costa Rica with kids).

Monkeys

Four types of monkeys live in Costa Rica: howler, squirrel, spider, and capuchin monkeys. Howler monkeys make their presence known with deep, echoing calls that can travel three miles through the forest—the loudest land animals in the Americas. Squirrel monkeys, one of the most endangered, are playful and social, mostly found in Manuel Antonio.

White-faced capuchins, the smartest of the bunch, use tools and have complex social lives. Spider monkeys, with their incredibly long limbs and prehensile tails, are expert acrobats. The best time to see them is at dawn and dusk when they’re actively foraging in the trees.
 

Jaguars

The jaguar, Central America’s largest cat, prowls Costa Rica’s remote forests. These powerful predators have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom—strong enough to crush turtle shells. Mostly nocturnal and extremely elusive, your chances of seeing one are slim but not impossible. 

Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula is your best bet, as it has the healthiest jaguar population in the country. Fewer than 500 remain in Costa Rica, and conservation efforts are critical to their survival. For a better chance of spotting one, consider joining a specialized wildlife tour that uses camera traps. 

Tapirs

The Baird’s tapir, Costa Rica’s largest land mammal, looks like a cross between an elephant and a pig, with a flexible snout that functions like a mini trunk. These gentle giants, weighing up to 800 pounds, play a crucial role in spreading seeds throughout the rainforest, (see our favorite Costa Rica rainforest tours).

Despite their size, they move surprisingly quietly and are strong swimmers. Your best chance to see them is in Corcovado National Park or the highlands of Braulio Carrillo National Park, especially near water sources at dawn or dusk. With fewer than 1,000 left in the country, conservation efforts are vital. Their slow reproduction—just one calf every two years—makes population recovery difficult.
 

Birds

Birdwatchers come to Costa Rica with one bird in mind: the resplendent quetzal. With its long, iridescent green tail, it's one of the most sought-after birds in the world. It's not easy to find, but your best bet is in cloud forests like Monteverde or San Gerardo de Dota.

But even if the quetzal stays out of sight, there's plenty to look at. Toucans, with their oversized, colorful bills, make dramatic entrances, while scarlet macaws streak across the sky in pairs. And with over 50 species of hummingbirds zipping through the forests, there's always a flash of color somewhere.

Resplendent quetzals

The resplendent quetzal is as spectacular as its name suggests, with shimmering emerald feathers and a crimson chest. Revered by ancient Mayans and Aztecs as divine, these birds were symbols of freedom (they reportedly are known to often die in captivity).

Monteverde and San Gerardo de Dota offer the best chances to see one, especially during breeding season when males perform elaborate aerial displays. Listen for their distinctive hollow, melancholic calls echoing through the cloud forests. They primarily eat wild avocados, swallowing them whole and regurgitating the seeds, playing a vital role in forest regeneration. 

Toucans

With their almost comically large bills, toucans are some of Costa Rica’s most recognizable birds. Six species live here, including the keel-billed toucan, known for its rainbow-colored beak, and the larger chestnut-mandibled toucan. Their remarkable bills, while appearing heavy, are actually lightweight honeycomb structures that help regulate body temperature.

They’re social birds, often found in small flocks, communicating through croaking calls that echo through the forest. Look for them in mid-canopy levels at forest edges, particularly in Tortuguero, Arenal, and Carara National Park. 
 

Macaws

Scarlet macaws, with their brilliant red, yellow, and blue feathers, are a conservation success story in Costa Rica. Once nearly extinct due to the pet trade, they’ve made a comeback, particularly in Carara National Park and the Osa Peninsula. These intelligent birds mate for life and can live up to 60 years in the wild. They’re most active in the early morning and late afternoon, flying in noisy pairs between feeding and roosting sites. The slightly smaller great green macaw lives in the northern lowlands.

Hummingbirds

Costa Rica hosts an incredible 54 hummingbird species, from the tiny scintillant hummingbird that weighs about as much as a penny to the violet sabrewing with its deep purple-blue feathers.

Their long, specialized bills and tongues are perfectly adapted to certain flowers, making them key pollinators. With an incredibly high metabolism, they need to drink more than their body weight in nectar every day and go into a torpor state at night to save energy. If you want guaranteed close-up sightings, check out the hummingbird gardens in Monteverde or La Paz Waterfall Gardens, but you'll spot them all over the country wherever flowers are in bloom.
 

Reptiles & amphibians

Some of Costa Rica's most interesting creatures are small but impossible to miss. The strawberry poison dart frog—tiny, bright red, and speckled with blue—looks like something out of a cartoon, but its skin is loaded with toxins. Then there's the Jesus Christ lizard, named for its ability to run across water when startled. 

American crocodiles, some reaching over 16 feet long, lurk in the country's rivers and estuaries, while smaller caimans keep to forest waterways. On night hikes, you might spot glass frogs with hypnotizing black and white eyes or red-eyed tree frogs, known for their bright green bodies and vivid red eyes. 

Poison dart frogs

Costa Rica's poison dart frogs showcase nature's warning system with their vivid blues, reds, greens, and yellows—bright warning colors that signal their toxicity.

The strawberry poison dart frog alone comes in over 30 color variations depending on the region. These tiny amphibians, only 1–2 inches long, store powerful toxins in their skin, which indigenous people once used to tip their hunting darts. But they’re not born poisonous—they absorb their toxins from a diet of specific insects in the wild. They're also standout parents. Males guard eggs laid on leaves, then carry newly hatched tadpoles on their backs to water-filled bromeliads. If you're hoping to spot them, head to the rainforest floor, especially after rain, in places like Puerto Viejo, Tortuguero, and the Caribbean lowlands.

Basilisk lizards

Nicknamed "Jesus Christ lizards" for their ability to sprint across water, basilisk lizards are some of Costa Rica’s most entertaining reptiles. With their bright green bodies and head crests, they can run on their hind legs across the surface at speeds of 5 feet per second, using specialized toe fringes that trap air pockets and keep them from sinking. This trick helps them escape predators in the most dramatic way possible. 

Males have even more pronounced crests, which they use for territorial displays and attracting mates. Basilisks thrive in lowland forests and riverbanks, staying active during the day. They’re strong swimmers, too—if threatened, they can disappear underwater for up to 30 minutes. Look for them basking on branches above waterways in Manuel Antonio, Tortuguero, and along the Sarapiquí River.
 

Marine life

Costa Rica's waters are just as full of life as its forests. Humpback whales migrate here from both hemispheres, which means you can spot them almost year-round. Dolphins—both bottlenose and spotted—often ride the waves alongside boats in the Gulf of Papagayo and Drake Bay.

The country's beaches are key nesting grounds for four species of endangered sea turtles, including the massive leatherback, which can weigh over 1,000 pounds. Offshore, the Cocos Island Marine Reserve is a dream for divers, home to hammerhead sharks, manta rays, and even the occasional whale shark. Closer to shore, coral reefs are filled with parrotfish, angelfish, and moray eels, making for some of the best snorkeling in the region. 

Whales

Costa Rica has one of the longest whale-watching seasons in the world, thanks to two migrations of humpback whales. Northern hemisphere humpbacks arrive from December to April, while their southern relatives show up from July to November. See our guide for more on the specifics of when to go to Costa Rica. 

These 40-ton giants travel more than 5,000 miles every year to breed and give birth in Costa Rica’s warm, protected waters. If you’re lucky, you’ll see them breach—leaping completely out of the water—along with tail slaps and fin waves. Their haunting songs, which males use to compete for mates, change each season. The best places to see them? Marino Ballena National Park (famous for its whale-tail-shaped beach) and Drake Bay. 

Dolphins

Dolphins are easy to spot along both coasts, though they’re more common in the Pacific. Spinner dolphins are the most acrobatic, twisting and flipping through the air, while bottlenose, spotted, and common dolphins often swim alongside boats, riding the waves. 
These highly intelligent mammals live in complex social groups, communicate through a sophisticated language of clicks and whistles, and sleep with half their brain awake to continue breathing. 

Some of the best places to see them are Drake Bay, the Gulf of Papagayo, and the waters around Manuel Antonio. For something truly surreal, head to the Golfo Dulce at night when bioluminescent plankton light up the water. If dolphins swim through, they leave glowing trails in their wake.
 

Sea turtles

Costa Rica is one of the best places in the world to witness sea turtles nesting, especially during the arribadas—mass arrivals of thousands of olive ridley turtles on Ostional and Nancite beaches. The country provides key nesting sites for four species: leatherbacks (the world’s largest sea turtles, weighing up to 1,500 pounds), greens, hawksbills, and olive ridleys. 

These ancient navigators use Earth’s magnetic field to return to the exact beach where they were born, sometimes after traveling thousands of miles. On the Caribbean side, Tortuguero National Park is the top spot for green turtles, while Las Baulas National Park protects critical leatherback nesting sites on the Pacific. Between July and December, conservation programs offer visitors the chance to join guided nighttime turtle watches

Reef fish

Costa Rica’s reefs are full of marine life, and each coast has its own unique ecosystem. On the Caribbean side, Cahuita National Park is home to parrotfish, which use their beak-like mouths to scrape coral, turning it into fine white sand. You might also see spotlight parrotfish, which shift colors in seconds, and lionfish, and the striking but invasive lionfish, whose venomous spines make them a threat to native species. The Pacific has larger fish, including mahi-mahi, roosterfish with their tall, comb-like fins, and schools of yellowfin tuna. Snorkelers will find angelfish, butterflyfish, and pufferfish, while divers sometimes spot eagle rays or even whale sharks—the largest fish in the ocean—near Cocos Island.

Best places to see wildlife in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's national parks system protects nearly 25% of the country's territory, representing one of the world's most ambitious conservation efforts. These parks span 28 distinct protected areas encompassing rainforests, cloud forests, beaches, and volcanic landscapes, and are a haven for Costa Rican wildlife.  

Corcovado National Park

This remote rainforest is one of most beautiful parks in Costa Rica, and one the few places in Costa Rica where, with a bit of luck, you might spot a jaguar—the largest cat in the Americas. The park is also home to Baird's tapirs, all four of Costa Rica's monkey species, and more than 400 bird species, including vibrant scarlet macaws.

Corcovado's isolation has kept its ecosystems largely intact, earning it a reputation as a "living laboratory" of biological richness. Visitors often come hoping to see squirrel monkeys, sloths, and the elusive harpy eagle. Visitors need a permit and must enter with a guide, which helps protect the park while ensuring better chances of spotting wildlife. 

Tortuguero National Park

Accessible only by boat or plane, Tortuguero is a maze of canals, lagoons, and rainforests best known for its sea turtles. Between July and October, thousands of green sea turtles come ashore to nest, continuing a ritual that has played out for centuries. Leatherback, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles also use these beaches, making Tortuguero one of the best places in the world to see sea turtles in the wild.

The park’s canals and lagoons are home to caimans, river otters, and manatees, while howler monkeys and sloths move through the rainforest above. Birdwatchers can spot toucans, kingfishers, and herons along the waterways. Many of the local guides in the nearby village once relied on turtle hunting but now work in conservation, helping to protect the species they used to catch.

Monteverde Cloud Forest

High in the Tilarán Mountains,Monteverde’s cloud forest feels like another world—misty, lush, and teeming with life. The forest is famous for the resplendent quetzal, a striking bird with emerald-green feathers and a long, flowing tail that birdwatchers from around the world come to see, especially during nesting season from February to May.

The forest is also home to rare species like the three-wattled bellbird and the umbrella bird. A network of well-maintained hanging bridges and canopy tours give you a good chance of spotting wildlife, from small orchids growing in the trees to Baird’s tapirs moving through the undergrowth. Many animals and plans have over time adapted to the cloud forest’s cool, damp conditions, which has created unique plants and animals found nowhere else in Costa Rica. 

Manuel Antonio National Park

Though it’s the smallest national park in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio is where you will find an incredible amount of wildlife, and some of the best hikes in Costa Rica. White-faced capuchin monkeys are often seen (and sometimes a little too curious about visitors' backpacks), while three-toed sloths lounge in cecropia trees above. The park’s well-kept trails wind through rainforest to scenic Pacific overlooks, where migrating humpback whales can sometimes be spotted offshore.

Because the park’s wildlife is so used to humans, it’s one of the easiest places to see animals up close, and it’s a great choice for families and first-time visitors. The surrounding area has plenty of accommodations and guided tours that help maximize wildlife sightings. To keep the ecosystem in balance, the park limits daily visitors, so it’s worth planning ahead. See our tips for planning a tour of Manuel Antionio

Osa Peninsula

The Osa Peninsula is one of the most remote places in Costa Rica, with large areas of intact rainforest and diverse marine life. Scarlet macaws are a common sight along the coast, and offshore, spinner dolphins and humpback whales are frequently spotted.

Some of the best wildlife experiences here are found in the Golfo Dulce, a sheltered bay that provides important habitat for endangered scalloped hammerhead sharks and the occasional whale shark. Many lodges on the peninsula are only accessible by boat or small plane, making this a destination for those who want to experience Costa Rica’s wilderness with fewer crowds.

Best time to visit for wildlife viewing

When to go to Costa Rica will differ depending on what you'd like to see. Costa Rica's wildlife follows two main seasons, each with its own advantages. The dry season (December–April) brings plenty of sunshine and makes it easier to spot animals since water sources shrink and vegetation is less dense. But this also means more visitors and higher prices. The green season (May–November) turns the landscape lush and vibrant, with fewer crowds, though you can expect regular afternoon showers. 

If you're hoping to see specific animals, timing matters. Olive ridley and leatherback turtles nest at Ostional and Las Baulas between October and March, while green sea turtles show up in Tortuguero from July to October. Humpback whales migrate along the Pacific coast twice a year—December to April and July to November. Resplendent quetzals nest in Monteverde between February and May, and scarlet macaws start nesting in Carara in August. If it's the amphibians you want to see, the early green season is a great time to go, when breeding frogs become especially active after the first rains. If your first time visiting, see our guide to how to plan a trip to Costa Rica.

How to experience wildlife responsibly 

Costa Rica takes conservation seriously, and responsible wildlife tourism plays a big role in protecting its biodiversity. National parks have strict regulations to minimize human impact, including designated trails, visitor limits, and rules against feeding or touching animals.

Sustainable travel is important. If you're booking a tour, look for operators certified by the Costa Rican Tourism Board's Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST), which ensures they follow ethical and eco-friendly practices. When watching wildlife, keep a respectful distance—at least 6 meters (20 feet) from most mammals—speak quietly, and use binoculars instead of getting too close. Flash photography can disturb nocturnal species, so red-light flashlights are the better choice for night tours.

Simple habits also make a difference: disposing of waste properly keeps animals from getting used to human food, and using reef-safe sunscreen helps protect marine life. Park entry fees and hiring local guides directly support conservation efforts and sustainable jobs, helping to keep Costa Rica's wildlife thriving for the long haul. There are also many great eco-lodges in Costa Rica.