Costa Rica - Manuel Antonio

Early the next morning, we left for Manuel Antonio National Park, near the town of Quepos. Because it is so close to the capital San Jose, it’s busy and crowded. But we wanted to visit since my friend Allan was a guide and was available to take us around. I met Allan 6 years ago on my Earthwatch Fellowship, when we both spent a week at a biological field station working with leatherback sea turtles. I often see Allan’s social media posts highlighting the amazing animals that he sees, so I was eager to have him show us the park. 

...nature is so metal...!

I was excited to see what Manuel Antonio had to offer in terms of wildlife, and I wasn't disappointed. From the parking lot, we saw a troop of white-faced capuchin monkeys, who Allan told us were highly intelligent monkeys - sometimes scarily so. He sent us a video taken the week before of a capuchin who had stolen a baby spider monkey, and had started eating it while the baby was still alive. Ew.

Black spiny-tailed iguana

Jesus Christ lizard, aka basilisk

We saw a variety of fascinating creatures, including a gladiator frog, black spiny-tailed iguanas, a Jesus-Christ lizard. There were also some brightly colored land crabs, particularly near the mangrove forests.

Land crab

Manuel Antonio is interesting because it is so crowded and touristy. Many people head straight through the park to the beach for the beautiful soft white sands, but we wanted to see as much fauna as we could. There are boardwalks and paved paths that allow easy access through the rainforest, which mean huge crowds. 

Brown-throated three toed sloth baby

Two-toed sloth

Because of the throng, I was surprised by how many sloths we saw, especially since we only saw glimpse of one in the Amazon – here in Manuel Antonio, we saw 6 different sloths, and most were easy to spot! We saw two different species - a two-toed sloth (distinguishable by their tan coat and two toes on their front legs) which was harder to see since they are mostly nocturnal and this one was sleeping, and several three-toed sloths (with a grey coat and three front toes) which are diurnal. 

Because the park lies on the coast, part of the park includes a red mangrove forest along the transitional zone along the coastline. These plants are uniquely adapted to thriving in salt water, and red mangroves have a really cool way to tolerate such high salinity. 

So clever!

They sacrifice one leaf on each branch to send the salt, so looking across through the mangroves, you can easily see a single yellow leaf among each bunch. 

Thanks, Allan!

We stayed past closing, then had a quick bite before our night tour with Jeremy – an entirely different experience from the daytime tour. It too was crowded so I wondered whether we'd even spot anything, but we did find scorpions, whip spiders, a sleeping red-eyed tree frog, a sleeping keel-billed toucan, and several anoles and tarantulas. 

Tarantula

 

Scorpion

Whip spider

Tarantulas and 

scorpions and 

whip spiders, oh my!

Plus, we saw several snakes. I was proud of myself when I spotted a yellow broadheaded tree snake on a bush by the side of the path. We saw a second, much larger broadheaded tree snake in the branches overhead. 

So pretty!

One of the more exciting sightings of the night was a large fer-de-lance, curled at the base of a tree. The fer-de-lance is a common and widespread venomous pit viper species known for its aggressive behavior and potent venom. It is highly toxic and can cause severe pain, swelling, and tissue damage in humans, and in some cases, it can be fatal. 

Since it is so hard to spot, the fer-de-lance is
one of the more dangerous snakes in Costa Rica

Like all pit vipers, its heat-sensing pits and keen eyesight make the fer-de-lance an efficient ambush predator that feeds on small mammals, birds, and other snakes. It is primarily nocturnal and hunts by waiting in a concealed position and striking its prey when it comes within range. In the wild, the fer-de-lance is an important predator and a valuable part of the forest ecosystem, but in areas where human populations are high, it can pose a significant threat to human health and safety.

APRIL 4

The next day began with an early morning meet-up with Allan, who knew how excited I was to get a clear view of a potoo. He knew of a better spot in the local community, outside the National Park, where we'd be able to see one up close.

It's just a plain ol' tree stump... nothing else to see here!

So we drove through the local town to a spot right by the road, where we had an incredible view of a bird with its baby. Potoos are nocturnal birds that spend the day camouflaged – they sit on dead tree stumps and stand perfectly still, blending right in as though they are extensions of the trunk. They are also funny looking birds, with huge eyes and a wide, gaping mouth. They lay a single egg on the end of a tree stump, then roost and hatch the egg while trying to blend in. 

I think it does a pretty good job!

Afterward, we had breakfast with Allan before setting off for Sierpe, our jumping off point for the Osa Peninsula – the main reason why we chose Costa Rica for our trip.