Flora and Fauna in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a country full of life.  It has millions of animals and plants that have exotic aromas and make rare sounds. When we arrived to Costa Rica it turned to be really difficult to identify animals or plants. But through the trip we could learn about them.  There is so much fauna and flora in this paradise because the well-preserved national parks. There is life in every corner of the places we went to. We were able to observe animals because we were quiet and attentive.

We could observe the Capuchin Monkey

  Throughout the trip we learned about four types of animals; mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. 

 The forest was full of beautiful mammals. The first one we saw was the Mantled Howler Monkey. In the first camping site we were waked up by the strong howls of this monkey. We got out of the tents and were able to observe the Mantled Howler Monkeys were black with brown or blonde saddles. We saw them on the trees making a “call to the sunrise”.  All the sixth graders were very happy and excited to see such a beautiful animal.  When we were getting back from The Cangreja we were lucky enough to see 4 t 5 Capuchin monkeys. They were black, had an upper chest and shoulders, and a white face with a cap.  They moved on top of the trees making little cries. We felt very joyful because what we were seeing was such a spectacle. In the first camping site when we were washing our teeth we could observe an Agouti. It was reddish brown and ate fruits. It didn’t make any strange sounds, only its steps on the dry leaves. We felt very happy to see such a strange animal like this. The last mammal we could observe was a Coati.  The coati lived all over the forest. We could observe it because the sound it was making while eating fruits and insects. It was dark brown and had a long mobile tail that was yellow or brown. We were very surprised to see a Coati because their very shy. All the mammals were beautiful.



The keel-billed toucan



The birds in Costa Rica are marvelous. Even though this is a small country, it has 10% of the world’s species. We saw many birds, but we liked three types of birds the most. The first one was the keel-billed toucan. This bird was so beautiful and serene it made us feel peaceful. It had a peek with colors of the rainbow and a black body. It made loud cries and creeks.  We could observe this bird in the Pacific Coast, near the beach. The next bird was the hummingbird. There are 300 species of hummingbirds in Costa Rica and we could watch some of them. They were so cheerful, they transmitted us energy. The hummingbirds were in all the camping sites we went to. They move so fast it’s hard to tell what type of hummingbird they are. They make fan-like sound because their wings are moving at an unimaginable speed. The last bird we like the most was the Brown Pelican. This bird was at the beach, were all the six graders could observe it.  It was big and had air sacs to absorb the impact of water. It dived into the water and captured fish making a splash sound. It made us feel so free and excited. These birds were unique.





Red Eyed tree frog

There are a lot of amphibians in this small country. There are more than 175 species!  When we passed little streams or rivers we could observe one toad and one frog. We recognized them because the annoying sound they made.  The first one we saw was the Giant Toad.  This toad lives in the pre-mountain or lower mountain. It can eat anything from insects to little kittens. When we saw this 9 in creature girls shouted, they found another of this type on their bathroom.  Everyone was really disgusted because this toad is horrible.  The second amphibian we saw was the Red Eyed tree frog. This frog makes a very loud sound that scared us a little.  What is funny is that females grow as twice as males! But the truth is that this frog is really small and lives in the wet forest. It eats moths, crickets, and other insects. It was really funny seeing these strange animals, everyone shouted and laughed.




Reptiles are very common in Costa Rica. There are over 221 species. In the beach we could observe two reptiles. The first one was the Black Ctenosaur. They are greenish brown and incredibly similar to Iguanas. But their color is darker than Iguana´s color. They moved quickly and made sound when the stepped on dry leaves.  We could see them everywhere in the beach, but we didn’t get too close because they made us feel threatened. The second reptile we saw was the Tiger Snake Eel. We could observe it in the ocean. It was very beautiful. It was brown and had with spots all over its body. It scared us a lot because we thought it was poisonous. It wasn’t poisonous, and was very peaceful. These reptiles scared all the sixth graders.

Amazing vegetation covers Costa Rica. Large trees, beautiful flowers and fruits were exposed to us in this trip.

Guanacaste Tree

The trees were enormous. We could watch two types of trees. The first one was called “The Naked Indian”. We could observe it in the dry forest walking to the thermal springs. It can measure 30 m! It is called this way because the trunk is cracking and it is of a copper color. We could identify it because the trunk and branches have a strong smell. All the people in the trip laughed about it´s funny name. The other tree we saw was the “Guanacaste Tree”.  This tree was in the second camping place. It was from 82 to 164 feet high! When Vivi (a girl in OPEPA) explained us its meaning it made us feel stable. This tree is a symbol of stability and growth. It also represents universal equilibrium and sacred creating. We could then understand how important i vegetation is to Costa Rica.



Costa Rican Watermelon



The flowers were very nice. The two most common flowers were the orchids and the helicoids. The orchids were in the second camping site. They smelled really good. The orchids were very beautiful and are very important to Costa Rica. They are so common because the tropical forest permits them to grow better. The helicoids were also in the second camping site and in the 8km walk between the camps. It was mostly yellow, orange, and red. It had an excellent aroma. This flower was very large and outstanding. We felt very happy to see such beautiful flowers.

The most delicious fruits we tasted were the Costa Rican fruits.  Some famous Costa Rican fruits are papayas, mangos, pineapples, black berries, lemons, tamarinds, mamoncillos, coconuts, zapotes, and watermelons. In the beach the sun was very strong. Everyone got a little dehydrated and the councilors surprised us with fresh watermelons. These fruit made us all feel very happy and refreshed. It was cold, and made everyone gain forces. Every sixth grader can remember this exceptional taste!

All the flora and fauna in Costa Rica was amazing. We could learn a lot of it and appreciate it as the next grades will!