(La Fortuna, Costa Rica)

If you haven’t read Part 1 yet – it will provide some excellent background for this post and the similar but not identical photo at the top of it.

It didn’t take long to see another caiman as we continued our cruise down the river.  This one was a little bolder and didn’t disappear under the water as we approached.  We saw many more caimans from a distance but this one let us get very close.

The next sighting was something I had not expected:  the “Jesus Christ Lizard”.   I was skeptical about the name but, once again, a little research proved that our guide was correct.  Also known as the “basilisk”, the Jesus Christ Lizard gets its dramatic name because of its ability to “walk” on water.  When this lizard runs over water, it creates a bubble and somehow manages to avoid sinking…at least for a little while.  Because they are lighter, young lizards can run up to 20 metres across the water before they sink.

There were large birds all over the place.  I saw lots of great egrets… but they are slightly lower on the “wow” scale as these ones may well have come from Canada!  However, the anhinga was a little more interesting:  it often stands with wings stretched for a long period of time.  Although it looks like it is about to take off, it is really just drying its wings.

While the albino howler monkey was silent, the same cannot be said for the other howler monkeys we encountered on the safari.  Due to a mutation in one of its throat bones, the howler monkey can “howl”25 times louder than you would expect.  It is the world’s second loudest mammal, after the blue whale.  The monkeys howl to scare off predators – if you hear what sounds like an abnormally large and loud dog that is barking at half speed, you are probably being told off by a howler monkey.

While the first picture looks like it was taken at close range, my zoom lens was actually performing heroic feats.  The second picture is a little grainier but I’ve included it because it shows two frolicking young monkeys along with an adult.

After the relatively frantic activity of the howler monkeys, it was time to slow down a bit.  We found a tree with sleeping bats:  they sleep in a straight-line formation so that they will look like a snake to potential predators.  The one at the top is the “alpha bat”!

Almost as idle as a sleeping bat is a three-toed sloth – we saw one at the very end of the safari.  Not only are they slow and lazy, but they are quite filthy too.  I was very lucky to be able to capture this one on film – it was up very high in a tree but our eagle-eyed guide was able to see it from the river far below.

This wildlife safari was thrilling.  It was great to see wild animals in their natural environment – definitely not as “convenient” as a zoo, but much more rewarding and enjoyable for all concerned.

This marks the end of my visit to the Arenal/La Fortuna area.  From here, we will be travelling west to the Monteverde Cloud Forest.