Mammals

Costa Rica is home to nearly 250 species of mammals.

Visitors to the national parks and other protected areas are almost certain to see one of the country's four types of monkeys -- howler, spider, white-faced capuchin and squirrel monkeys, but the country is also host to a wide variety of other tropical mammals such as the sloths, the often-viewed three-toed, and the rarely seen, nocturnal two-toed sloth. Costa Rica is also home to three types of anteaters; the tamandua is most commonly seen, while the others, the giant and silky anteaters are rarely glimpsed. Visitors to Costa Rica's rainforests have a great chance to see armadillos, agoutis, coatis, peccaries (wild pigs), kinkajous, raccoons, squirrels and bats. But some rainforest animals are almost never seen, such as, jaguars and tapirs; which are on the endangered species list. Bats, such as the infamous vampire bat, comprise more than half of the mammal species in the country, unusually outnumbering rodents twice over.