There are four species of monkeys in Costa Rica and the Osa Peninsula is one of the few places you can find all four species. Monday in my “People Watching?” Post I included a photo of a Central American Spider Monkey along with an owl photo, both seemed to be watching me as much I was them! 🙂 Click either link above to see that Spider Monkey. And below are my photos from here of the other 3 species found in Costa Rica: Mantled Howler Monkey, White-faced Capuchin Monkey and the small Squirrel Monkey (featured photo) . . .
Continue reading “The Other 3 Monkey Species”Monkeying Around Christmas Eve
December 24 was a beautiful, sunshiny day! And my 6 year anniversary of living Retired in Costa Rica! I arrived on Christmas Eve 2014 and haven’t stopped exploring this tropical paradise a single day and I’m still blogging about it! Except for the first two Christmases getting “settled in” as a Costa Rica Resident, I have traveled every Christmas week since, to a National Park or other nature preserve.
The 23rd (day before yesterday) was when I scheduled Néstor, my birding guide here, and it was totally cloudy and raining all day. With nothing planned the 24th, it was a bright blue sky, sunny day! So I went hiking on my own, figuring maybe I could see some of the same birds in better light for better photos. Nada! Nothing! Almost no birds! Maybe they were in the tree tops “sunning?” 🙂 But . . .
On the other hand, on the first three rainy days I saw no monkeys and yesterday on the trail looking for birds I saw this troop or family of Mantled Howler Monkeys (my gallery link). They were way high in the Cecropia trees eating leaves, but I managed to get a few distant shots of these common monkeys here:
“We’ve just barely stopped being monkeys.”
~Duncan Trussell
🙂
¡Pura Vida!
Christmas Day’s main event was a visit to the nearby Butterfly Conservatory this morning, but it may be a few days before I get to those photos! 🙂 A Merry Weekend to you! And tomorrow, Saturday, I go to Caño Negro Reserve for birding – always a good place for birds.
Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park
¡Pura Vida!
Eye Level with Monkeys!
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
Central American Spider Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica |
Central American Spider Monkey Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Ri |
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“The Nest” Observation Tower From which all these monkey shots were made. Arenal Observatory Lodge, Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Ri |
To learn more about Mantled Howler Monkeys with videos at Arkive.org
To learn more about Arenal Observatory Lodge Costa Rica at their website
I highly recommend this lodge for whatever your experience with nature will be!
Great location! Great facilities! Great services! Great experiences & vistas!
Other Animals at Sarapiquí
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Mantled Howler Monkey male Selva Verde Lodge Sarapiquí, Chilamate, Costa Rica |
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White-nosed Coati Selva Verde Lodge Sarapiquí, Chilamate, Costa Rica |
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Variegated Squirrel Selva Verde Lodge Sarapiquí, Chilamate, Costa Rica |
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Black River Turtle Puerto Viejo River, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Costa Rica |
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Spectacled Caiman Puerto Viejo River, Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Costa Rica |
See also all my non-bird wildlife photo galleries at OTHER WILDLIFE
And this will be my last post on what I saw in Sarapiquí at Selva Verde Lodge. I highly recommend this lodge and spending at least 3 or 4 nights when you go!
Christmas Day Wildlife Photos
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Snowy Cotinga (A first sighting for me) By Nature Guide Ronald on my phone through his spotting scope Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica |
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Yellow-throated Toucan (formerly Chestnut or Black-mandibled Toucan) By Nature Guide Ronald on my phone through his spotting scope Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkey By Nature Guide Ronald on my phone through his spotting scope Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica And I haven’t mentioned that I hear them often in the forest here. |
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Nature Guide Ronald at the front entrance to Selva Verde before we cross the road for birds in a botanical garden. |
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More hummingbirds than I’ve seen almost anywhere else. Some eating out of that heliconia flower. Dave & Dave’s Nature Pavilion, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica |
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There was a group of German photographers there with their big lenses. Dave & Dave’s Nature Pavilion, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica |
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Dave Senior putting out more fruit for the birds. Dave & Dave’s Nature Pavilion, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica |
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Christmas Tree Selva Verde Lodge Restaurant #1 Sarapiqui, Costa Rica |
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Rain seen from Riverside Room 45, Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica |
Some Other Animals of Palo Verde Park
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White-faced Capuchin Monkey Eating Fruit Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica |
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White-faced Capuchin Monkey People Watching Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkeys – Part of a family of 9 Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica |
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Mantled Howler Monkeys – Zoomed in on 3 Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica |
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American Crocodile Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica |
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Green Iguana male in mating orange color Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica |
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Proboscis Bat Tempisque River, Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica |
Brahma Cows on road with cowboy directing them Near Palo Verde National Park, Costa Rica |
Tortuguero Monkeys
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Mantled Howler Monkey, Laguna Lodge, Tortuguero, Costa Rica Photo made on cell phone through the guide’s spotting scope. |
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Central American Spider Monkey (Juvenile) Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica |
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White-faced Capuchin Monkey, Tortuguero, Costa Rica |
Of the four monkeys that live in Costa Rica, three can be found in Tortuguero National Park and I managed to get photos of all three on this trip. The one not here is the Squirrel Monkey found only in and around Manuel Antonio National Park. See one of my photos of Squirrel Monkey at Manuel Antonio.
OR
See my PHOTO GALLERY: Monkeys of Costa Rica
Sharing the Mangos
If you’ve never heard a howler monkey you must listen to the howler monkeys. We are hearing them more often now, day and night. But they don’t bother my sleep.
Mother-child don’t show their faces as much as Papa. Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
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Papa keeps a watchful eye on us humans looking up at them. Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
If you liked my simple cell phone photos of the Easter Procession at our Atenas Catholic Church yesterday, check out this video of Easter Procession in an Escazu, Costa Rica church.
My “DIAPAUSE”
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
My new word today is usually referring to animal dormancy, particularly butterflies in the pupae stage. I’m not in a pupae, unless you call my apartment that, but after preparation for two differents sets of visitors and a particularly full week with Kevin, I’ve kind of pulled into my apartment and mostly resting, reading, and taking care of just necessary business – not running all over Costa Rica looking for birds to photograph! This pre-sunset photo kind of symbolizes my diapause. It frequently looks like rain without ever doing it. It makes me look forward to May when the rain actually starts. It is very dry and grass fires are common.
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Rain Clouds that Don’t Rain! Atenas, Costa Rica |
It is fun to just sit on my balcony, watch the town below me, the sky, the birds and listen to the howler monkeys who are hollering as I type. Click to hear them yourself: Mantled Howler Monkey Oh, go ahead! Click it and listen for 20 seconds! I hear every morning & evening.
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Male Howler Monkey Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica My photo made by me here at the apartments in a tree along the river |
And by the way, it is pretty easy to rest this week as most every business has closed already or will after today for Holy Week. No Spanish Class either! Semana Santa.
Howler Monkeys Arrive!
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Male Mantled Howler Monkey Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
And yes, that is his testicles showing above. Sorry! The Howlers arrived this morning early with their distinctive howl, like an African Lion’s growl – seriously! But I did not go out to photograph them until this evening’s howl which means shooting into the sun – not smart! Maybe I’ll get up early one morning when they start howling and get some better photos. They come on the apartments’ property every year about this time when some of the fruit starts getting ripe, though they were eating leaves this evening. We saw only two males and the female with her baby tonight.
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Female and Baby Mantled Howler Monkeys Hacienda La Jacaranda, Atenas, Costa Rica |
I did not photograph these from my balcony like the birds because they are down along the river in those trees which I will have to start watching more. I’ve been too busy to do as much nature photography as I thought I would do, but having fun with everything else too! I got my first tennis lesson yesterday and that might become a new activity. 🙂 Healthy!
Click to Hear the Howler Monkeys Howl.