Costa Rica: Vegetation and Wildlife
Perhaps best known for its nature, Costa Rica’s climate allows for an incredible variety of birds, insects, mammals, and plant life. While it’s possible to see all of the aforementioned wildlife in their respective natural habitats, you can see a variety of species at once by visiting the La Paz Nature Park, which I did as a component of Wednesday’s Combo Tour with Expediciones Tropicales.
Made famous as the mascot of Fruit Loops, the Toucan is a native bird of Costa Rica.
More after the jump…
This carnivorous flower attracts insects with its meat-like odor.
These owl butterflies feed on nectar, such as the mango seen in the image above.
Monkeys are typically free to roam the Costa Rican rainforests, though the monkey seen here was born and raised in captivity.
Costa Rica is home to a variety of hummingbirds, found only in the Americas.
Snakes, such as this little green fella here (forgive me for neglecting to photograph its identification plate), feed on rodents. Some poisonous varieties carry enough venom to kill four humans.
A huge variety of orchids grow in Costa Rica.
This poisonous tree frog wasn’t behind glass, as it would likely be in the U.S.
If you’re planning to travel to Costa Rica, this online Costa Rica travel guide might be useful. It’s stacked with useful info. And there’s a section about the wildlife – http://itravel-costarica.com/costaricatropicalrainforestanimal.php.