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Costa Rica has two kinds of large
lizard-like reptiles: green iguanas
and
"black iguanas" (which are not technically
an iguana). These ground
nesting
reptiles can be found high in the treetops,
feeding on leaves and
basking
in the sun. Juvenile iguanas eat grubs and
other invertebrates, while
adults
are mostly plant eaters but will
occasionally eat small mammals and
nesting
birds.
Reptiles are restricted to living on land,
since all throughout
their lives they are air-breathing
creatures.
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| Habitat |
There are an amazing variety of lizards of
many different kinds in
Costa
Rica. They live everywhere, mostly in leaf
piles and dry underbrush.
One
of the best places to find lizards is on the
beach, where they hang out
around
driftwood logs and eat insects.
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| Education |
Literature
&
eBooks
Children's Classic Literature by Twain,
Bronte, Fitzgerald, Hawthorne,
Thoreau and more.
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Iguanas and Lizards in Costa Rica
On the beach, lizards with long back legs scamper
and leap among the
logs.
They are one of the most commonly seen creatures
here, but they can be
difficult
to get pictures of, because they rarely sit still
for the camera. When
they
see you approach, they bolt and hide in the brush,
making them
extremely
difficult to photograph. §
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| Jesus Christ
Lizard |
Some of the lizards here are cabable of amazing
feats of acrobatic
skill. For instance, the so-called Jesus Christ
Lizard
can actually walk on water. Well, what it can do is
run on water, to be
precise.
They run very very fast on their hind legs, with a
kind of slapping
motion
of the back feet. It's pretty amazing to watch.
Geckos can climb on sheer smooth walls, using
the
sticky
pads on their feet. They hunt mosquitos, making them
a favorite among
people.
Other kinds of lizards can jump and climb amazingly
well, hopping from
branch
to branch in the undergrowth. There are also some
fairly large iguanas
and
related large lizards. They are fairly rare, but
they are still to be
found,
and can even be seen sometimes in the undergrowth
near the beach. §
| Crocodiles in
Costa Rica |
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Success with Endangered Crocodiles
Reptiles are also numerous and interesting in
Costa Rica. Crocodiles,
which
have a longer snout than alligators, live in
several rivers of the
area.
Their smaller relatives, the caimans, are also
present near the
Atlantic
and Pacific coasts and in some rivers in the
interior part of the
country.
Famous places for spotting these creatures include
Tortuguero and
Corcovado
parks. In past years these animals reached
dangerously low numbers,
which
encouraged breeding and protection programs.
However, these programs
were
so efficient that the sightings of crocodiles have
increased
tremendously,
and there have also been some attacks. Attacks
have always occurred in
rivers
that are known to contain a large population of
these creatures; the
unfortunate
swimmers were aware of the danger but they simply
ignored it. §
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