Costa Rica aquatic species

Costa Rica’s inland waterways, mangroves, swamps and marshes provide essential habitat for several types of water-dwelling mammals including Neotropical river otters that are pretty rare to see although have been known to live within the river banks of Tortuguero National Park alongside spectacled caimans and the occasional American crocodiles – although the bridge over the Rio Tarcoles is definitely Costa Rica’s most popular place for croc watching.

Other inland water inhabitants include the seriously sleek tayra, an excellent swimmer and fantastic tree climber which spends much of its time pilfering honey from stingless bees or bounding from branch to branch in search of sweet and sticky fruit. Baird’s tapirs can provide quite a shock for unsuspecting travelers due to their size and usually because they’re coated in marsh mud and swamp vegetation with Corcovado National Park inviting a once in a lifetime glimpse of tapirs appearing from the sludge.

Finally, just after sunset is the best time to spot endangered West Indian manatees in Costa Rica’s waterways, with the inland canals of Tortuguero National Park offering a rare treat for wildlife lovers. For many years local hunters would track and kill manatees for food and subsequent generations have learned to avoid humans above all else. Seeing one in the wild is nigh on impossible and although the manatee has been touted as Costa Rica’s national marine mammal, the mystery that surrounds this slow moving, yet nimble, beast is symbolic of its will to remain undetected and, in so doing, survive.