Hi all, I’m going to Costa Rica in May-June as part of a graduate school field expedition (has a set itinerary). I’m planning on spending some days there before and after the expedition to look for animals wild and captive, especially ones that cannot be seen outside the country. The expedition starts in San José and ends in Monteverde, so I’ll go to the zoos in that areas. Basically, I want to maximize my number of lifer species of all taxonomic groups (it seems more than one collection is strong in birds of prey and snakes), and photograph them in the most convenient location possible, be it wild or captive. What are some places I should visit? Overall, I’m having trouble finding updated species lists, or even if the parks are still in operation. Here’s where I currently intend to go: Simón Bolívar Zoo Zoo Ave Bat Jungle Monteverde Herpetarium Thanks!
I've been to the Bat Jungle. It is a small pathway with a bunch of fruit bats. Unfortunately I don't have a species list for it, but it was open as of early January this year, and I can't imagine it closing in that time frame. It's definitely worth going to. There is a hummingbird gallery in Monteverde that is good for getting pictures of hummingbirds in the area, since they come up to the feeders there.
When I visited Costa Rica, I did not visit any zoo, because there were too many easily to visit reserves with too many wild birds and mammals. This is a fantastic place for easy ecotourism, even roadside restaurants have feeders which attract hummingbirds, toucanets, oropendolas, tanagers and lots of other wild birds.
I’m already doing ecotourism for my class. But the purpose of me visiting zoos and rescue centers is to see the species more efficiently in an easy-to-photograph environment without having to spend too much time and money tracking them down in the wild, which is a matter of luck. For example, in 2013 on a 2-week trip I didn’t see any wild pit vipers, only captive ones in vivariums. And a closeup shot of an owl awake in daylight is much more easily done with a captive one than a wild one.
On my trip, I also visited Las Pumas (wildlife sanctuary), though that is a tad out of the way relative to Monteverde/San Jose. I also think their enclosures were a tad small and there was just a chicken outside of its area and nobody seemed at all concerned, but you can see some cool things there.
On Birdforum, Paul Chapman is currently posting bird photos from his current trip to CR, 400+ species photographed from about 440 seen so far....
Monterverde Herpetarium is closed. The building is still there but it went out of business during Covid. I've visited all of the others. Zoo Ave is the best one by far - but all are interesting. There is also La Paz Waterfall Gardens - there is a small zoo there. The large free-flight aviary snake house is especially interesting.
