Manuel Antonio National Park
Six thirty in the morning and up we go! Early in the morning is the time the tropical forest is more active, and we are on the go heading to Manuel Antonio National Park in search of this early activity. Our efforts are well rewarded. As we leave the boat we can hear the roar of the Howler Monkeys, and a chorus of wild birds. Although we saw monkeys, toucans and other tropical jewels, perhaps one of the more interesting animals seen in the park was the sloth. We were lucky enough to see the two species of sloth found in Costa Rica and some were lucky enough to see a female Three-toed Sloth at eye level and moving down until it reached ground level! This is a rare sighting because sloths are canopy animals that only go down to the ground once a week with the specific purpose of going to the bathroom. Perhaps this is what this female was about to do although we didn’t have enough patience to wait for that. After Manuel Antonio we traveled north to Curu Wildlife Refuge. This privately owned preserve is one of the few places in the world that protects Tropical Dry Forest. The Tropical Dry Forest is more scarce and in more danger than Tropical Rain Forest. In Curu we got to see some of the Dry Forest inhabitants including this Spiny-tailed Iguana, the fastest reptile on earth. On the run it can reach 40 miles an hour. Although today the iguanas didn’t seem in the mood to run, it allowed us to get close personal pictures.
Six thirty in the morning and up we go! Early in the morning is the time the tropical forest is more active, and we are on the go heading to Manuel Antonio National Park in search of this early activity. Our efforts are well rewarded. As we leave the boat we can hear the roar of the Howler Monkeys, and a chorus of wild birds. Although we saw monkeys, toucans and other tropical jewels, perhaps one of the more interesting animals seen in the park was the sloth. We were lucky enough to see the two species of sloth found in Costa Rica and some were lucky enough to see a female Three-toed Sloth at eye level and moving down until it reached ground level! This is a rare sighting because sloths are canopy animals that only go down to the ground once a week with the specific purpose of going to the bathroom. Perhaps this is what this female was about to do although we didn’t have enough patience to wait for that. After Manuel Antonio we traveled north to Curu Wildlife Refuge. This privately owned preserve is one of the few places in the world that protects Tropical Dry Forest. The Tropical Dry Forest is more scarce and in more danger than Tropical Rain Forest. In Curu we got to see some of the Dry Forest inhabitants including this Spiny-tailed Iguana, the fastest reptile on earth. On the run it can reach 40 miles an hour. Although today the iguanas didn’t seem in the mood to run, it allowed us to get close personal pictures.
