Costa Rica is an amazing country filled with diverse wildlife that fly, swim, hang, run, crawl and hop! Many of them are endangered or are native to Costa Rica and can’t be found anywhere else in the world. There are monkeys, iguanas and many different kinds of birds, reptiles, mammals and insects. The next six animals can be found in the oceans, rivers and trees of our beautiful country!
There are 25 whale and dolphin species that live in the oceans around Costa Rica! There is bottlenose, pantropical, spinner and striped dolphins just to name a few that can be spotted right off the coast. Even Orcas can be found in the Pacific waters while many of the dolphin species are found off the Caribbean coast. There are many other different kinds of whales, including humpbacks, that are seen in the Pacific and Caribbean waters as well.
Howler monkeys can be heard from Sunset Surf and are known as the loudest of the New World monkeys! They typically howl around dawn and dusk and can be heard from three miles away by pushing air over a large bone in their throats. Their sounds are used to talk with others in their group and mark their territory. The sound of one of these roars can be very intimidating at first however you will never mistaken the sound of a howler monkey once you hear its impressive sound.
The largest lizard species in Central America can be seen around Sunset Surf! Green iguanas can get up to six feet long and have an incredibly long tail that is more than half their total body length. Like smaller lizards they can drop their own tails if caught by a predator and regrow them. While on break from your surf lesson you will regularly see these scurrying across the sand and up the trees.
Great Green Macaws can be found in the wild in Costa Rica. They are very endangered however and live only in forests that have a very specific tree called the almendro. They use the almendro to make their nests and for their main source of food. Sadly they are mostly extinct in their original habitat however with more awareness the green macaw as well as the scarlet macaw are making a comeback.
There are two species of the sleepy Sloths in CR. Sloths spend almost their entire lives hanging in a tree upside down. That’s because they mate, sleep, eat and even give birth hanging upside down! Funny creatures that move incredibly slow the chances of seeing one of these are very high if choosing to go zip lining as one of your activities.
The sweet West Indian manatee live in the estuaries, rivers and ocean bays of CR. They’re pretty big, about 12 feet long and weighing 1200 pounds. Surprisingly their closest currently living relatives are elephants! Found only on the Caribbean coast the manatee was once hunted almost to extinction. Now Costa Rica’s national marine symbol they will hopefully make a comeback in numbers.
We take great pride in running a business that is eco-friendly. We have great respect and admiration for the creatures that live around Sunset Surf and love introducing our guests to them. We and the creatures of Costa Rica hope to see you soon!