Costa Rica
Cloud forests, cacophony, colour.
Baird's Tapir
Tapirus bairdii
Ancient forest engineer; patience is the only technique.
Blue Morpho
Morpho helenor
Electric blue flashes down forest paths, impossible to photograph in flight.
Green Iguana
Iguana iguana
Basking in the crowns of trees along slow rivers.
Jaguar
Panthera onca
Tracks along the beach at Corcovado; the animal itself is a gift.
Keel-billed Toucan
Ramphastos sulfuratus
Improbable bill, croaking calls above the canopy.
Leopard
Panthera pardus
Cryptic, solitary, and everywhere, if you know where to look.
Mantled Howler Monkey
Alouatta palliata
The sound of the neotropics at first light.
Red-eyed Tree Frog
Agalychnis callidryas
Night walks after rain, leaves at eye level.
Resplendent Quetzal
Pharomachrus mocinno
The green-and-scarlet emblem of the cloud forest, tail streaming behind.
Scarlet Macaw
Ara macao
Pairs streaking above the beach almond trees at Carara.
Strawberry Poison-dart Frog
Oophaga pumilio
Tiny, loud, and unmistakably red on the forest floor.
Three-toed Sloth
Bradypus variegatus
Slow-motion cecropia specialists: look up, then look up again.
White-faced Capuchin
Cebus imitator
Clever, curious troops. Do not feed them, ever.