Wildlife of Costa Rica
The wildlife of Costa Rica comprises all naturally occurring animals, fungi and plants that reside in this Central American country.
[1] One of the principal sources of Costa Rica's biodiversity is that the country, together with the land now considered Panama, formed a bridge connecting the North and South American continents approximately three to five million years ago.
These endemic species include frogs, snakes, lizards, finches, hummingbirds, gophers, mice, cichlids, and gobies among many more.
Over twenty-seven percent of the country's land has a protected status as national parks, wildlife refuges, forest preserves, and more.
The government imposes a five percent tax on gasoline to generate revenue to pay landowners to refrain from clear-cutting on their land and instead to create tree plantations.
This provides Costa Ricans, or "Ticos" as they call themselves, incentive to become active tree farmers instead of cattle ranchers.
[8] Tree farms provide some habitat for wildlife, enabling some measure of biodiversity to remain in these areas despite humans' use of these natural resources.
[10] Ecotourism is defined as "tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments, especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife".
[11] The profitable industry of ecotourism entices businesses to capitalize on natural resources by protecting and preserving them rather than consuming them.
Threats to Costa Rica's biodiversity include a rapidly growing human population, developing coastlines for the industry of tourism and harmful agricultural practices all contributing to pollution and environmental degradation.
In this context, management strategies must consider the presence of these "new" species, evaluating whether they should be eradicated, tolerated, or even integrated to enrich the local flora and support ecological restoration.
Costa Rica clearly illustrates this phenomenon since the 16th century, where some introduced plants have had significant socioeconomic and environmental impacts.
A recent study published in the UNED Journal Research documented over 980 introduced plant species in the country.
Some examples of these are the following: Ecotourism is one of Costa Rica's primary economic resources, and the country's butterflies add a lot to that.
It has been documented eating almost anything, including vegetables, ants, spiders, any toad smaller than itself, mice, and other small mammals.
Representatives of all three orders of amphibians - caecilians, salamanders, and frogs and toads - reside in Costa Rica.
[16] The highland-dwelling golden toad, Bufo periglenes, has not been witnessed in its highly restricted habitat of the central mountain ranges of Costa Rica since 1989.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared the golden toad endangered, but it is likely extinct due to the lack of sightings since over two decades ago.
Suspected causes for the toads probable extinction include a combination of intense El Nino weather patterns which resulted in a drought, increased pollution added to the environment, climate change, and an invasive fungal species, Chiriqui harlequin.
Snakes number about 120 species in the country, including 5 powerful boas and a wide diversity of harmless colubrids.
Two crocodilians, the widespread spectacled caiman and the large, sometimes dangerous American crocodile are found in Costa Rica.
Large fauna, such as tapir, jaguar, and deer are rarely encountered, being both elusive and tied to now-fragmented undisturbed habitats.
Costa Rican mammals range in size from the 3-gram thumbless bat of the family Furipteridae to the 250 kg (550 lb) Baird's tapir.
941 bird species have been recorded in Costa Rica (including Cocos Island), more than all of the United States and Canada combined.
More than 600 of the Costa Rican species are permanent residents, and upwards of 200 are migrants, spending portions of the year outside of the country, usually in North America.
Resplendent quetzals eat fruit, insects, small frogs, lizards, and snails and have distinctive echoing calls.
[5][20] Costa Rican officials have explored the possibility of shutting down their national zoos in an effort to demonstrate a more advanced appreciation for the wildlife in their country.
