Cañón del Sumidero National Park

🇲🇽 Mexico

🐊 American Crocodiles Below the Canyon Walls

⏱ 1 day 🥾 Easy trails

🌍 #191 Global · 3.5 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ #35 in North America #89 in Tropical Forest

Chiapas, Mexico 1019 spp. recorded

The Grijalva river runs a thousand metres below the canyon rim, and the boat trip up it is the easiest wildlife watching in Chiapas: American crocodiles bask on the sandbars in plain sight, spider monkeys and grey squirrels work the cliff vegetation, and green iguanas sit out on the rocks.

16.810° N 93.065° W

Wildlife

⭐ Iconic Species

American Crocodile

Crocodylus acutus

50–60% · Likely

Central American Spider Monkey

Ateles geoffroyi

30–40% · Possible

Green Iguana

Iguana iguana

40–50% · Likely

Mexican Agouti

Dasyprocta mexicana

20–30% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Clay-colored Thrush

Turdus grayi

70–80% · Very likely

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes aurifrons

70–80% · Likely

Social Flycatcher

Myiozetetes similis

60–70% · Likely

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

60–70% · Likely

Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

60–70% · Likely

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

60–70% · Likely

Inca Dove

Columbina inca

50–60% · Likely

Boat-billed Flycatcher

Megarynchus pitangua

50–60% · Likely

White-fronted Parrot

Amazona albifrons

50–60% · Likely

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

50–60% · Likely

Magnolia Warbler

Setophaga magnolia

40–50% · Likely

Red-bellied Squirrel

Sciurus aureogaster

40–50% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

Central American Spider Monkey

Ateles geoffroyi

30–40% · Possible

Mexican Agouti

Dasyprocta mexicana

20–30% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

Red-bellied Squirrel

Sciurus aureogaster

40–50% · Likely

Gray Fox

Urocyon cinereoargenteus

10–20% · With luck

White-nosed Coati

Nasua narica

10–20% · With luck

Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat

Artibeus jamaicensis

10–20% · With luck

Common Opossum

Didelphis marsupialis

Insufficient data

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

Insufficient data

Northern Tamandua

Tamandua mexicana

Insufficient data

Common Hog-nosed Skunk

Conepatus leuconotus

Insufficient data

Mexican Hairy Dwarf Porcupine

Sphiggurus mexicanus

Insufficient data

Mexican Greater Funnel-eared Bat

Natalus mexicanus

Insufficient data

Mantled Howler Monkey

Alouatta palliata

Insufficient data

Gray Sac-winged Bat

Balantiopteryx plicata

Insufficient data

📊 Most Spotted

Clay-colored Thrush

Turdus grayi

70–80% · Very likely

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

Melanerpes aurifrons

70–80% · Likely

Social Flycatcher

Myiozetetes similis

60–70% · Likely

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

60–70% · Likely

Black Vulture

Coragyps atratus

60–70% · Likely

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

60–70% · Likely

Inca Dove

Columbina inca

50–60% · Likely

Boat-billed Flycatcher

Megarynchus pitangua

50–60% · Likely

White-fronted Parrot

Amazona albifrons

50–60% · Likely

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

50–60% · Likely

Magnolia Warbler

Setophaga magnolia

40–50% · Likely

Streak-backed Oriole

Icterus pustulatus

40–50% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

American Crocodile

Crocodylus acutus

50–60% · Likely

Green Iguana

Iguana iguana

40–50% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Brown Basilisk

Basiliscus vittatus

20–30% · Possible

Rose-bellied Lizard

Sceloporus variabilis

20–30% · Possible

Brown Anole

Anolis sagrei

20–30% · Possible

Common House Gecko

Hemidactylus frenatus

10–20% · With luck

Sooty Black-striped Snake

Coniophanes piceivittis

10–20% · With luck

Moist Forest Anole

Anolis unilobatus

10–20% · With luck

Guerreran Spiny-tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura pectinata

10–20% · With luck

Black-nosed Lizard

Sceloporus melanorhinus

0–10% · With luck

Pond Slider

Trachemys scripta

0–10% · With luck

Brown's Coralsnake

Micrurus browni

0–10% · With luck

Eastern Mexican Spiny-Tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura acanthura

0–10% · With luck

Scorpion Mud Turtle

Kinosternon scorpioides

Insufficient data

📊 Most Spotted

Mexican Smilisca

Smilisca baudinii

10–20% · Possible

Giant Marine Toad

Rhinella horribilis

10–20% · Possible

Central American Gulf Coast Toad

Incilius valliceps

10–20% · With luck

Whistling Chirping Frog

Eleutherodactylus pipilans

Insufficient data

Black-eyed Tree Frog

Agalychnis moreletii

Insufficient data

Browns' Frog

Lithobates brownorum

Insufficient data

Greenhouse Frog

Eleutherodactylus planirostris

Insufficient data

Black Jungle-Frog

Leptodactylus melanonotus

Insufficient data

Mexican Caecilian

Dermophis mexicanus

Insufficient data

Animal Events

🐊

Crocodiles on the Sandbars

DecJanFebMar

American crocodiles haul out to bask on the river sandbars beneath the canyon walls.

American Crocodile

Crocodylus acutus

50–60% · Likely

🐸

Frog Chorus in the Rains

JunJulAugSep

Spiny-headed and Mexican treefrogs call in chorus after the first heavy rains.

Mexican Smilisca

Smilisca baudinii

10–20% · Possible

🐦

Boreal Migrants Arrive

OctNovDecJanFebMar

North American warblers and hummingbirds winter in the canyon forest, joining the resident birds.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Archilochus colubris

10–20% · Possible

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

30–40% · Possible

Magnolia Warbler

Setophaga magnolia

40–50% · Likely

Sighting Calendar

Chance of spotting each species, month by month

Species Total

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

40–50

50–60

50–60

American Crocodile

60–70

30–40

40–50

40–50

30–40

60–70

60–70

70–80

40–50

40–50

50–60

60–70

Central American Spider Monkey

30–40

20–30

40–50

30–40

20–30

40–50

40–50

20–30

30–40

30–40

40–50

20–30

40–50

40–50

40–50

40–50

40–50

30–40

40–50

40–50

50–60

30–40

30–40

50–60

10–20

10–20

10–20

20–30

0–10

20–30

20–30

10–20

10–20

20–30

30–40

10–20

Clay-colored Thrush

70–80

70–80

70–80

90–100

80–90

90–100

80–90

80–90

90–100

60–70

60–70

70–80

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

50–60

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

80–90

60–70

60–70

60–70

Social Flycatcher

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

80–90

70–80

Great-tailed Grackle

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

50–60

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

60–70

70–80

60–70

40–50

60–70

40–50

50–60

60–70

60–70

60–70

Tropical Kingbird

60–70

50–60

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

70–80

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

40–50

50–60

50–60

50–60

70–80

50–60

50–60

80–90

50–60

60–70

50–60

Boat-billed Flycatcher

70–80

50–60

50–60

40–50

30–40

40–50

50–60

50–60

70–80

40–50

60–70

70–80

White-fronted Parrot

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

60–70

60–70

40–50

60–70

60–70

40–50

40–50

60–70

White-winged Dove

40–50

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

70–80

50–60

40–50

30–40

40–50

50–60

50–60

Magnolia Warbler

60–70

70–80

60–70

60–70

20–30

0–10

0–10

0–10

0–10

50–60

50–60

70–80

Red-bellied Squirrel

40–50

40–50

40–50

50–60

50–60

20–30

40–50

50–60

30–40

20–30

30–40

40–50

Animal Events

🐊 Crocodiles on the Sandbars

🐸 Frog Chorus in the Rains

🐦 Boreal Migrants Arrive

Sighting Zones

Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.

0.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Good

🐊 American Crocodiles Below the Canyon Walls

🦜

Biodiversity

Very good

How rich is the wildlife?

4.3 Global avg

4.7 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Species by taxon

🦅 Birds

622

🐒 Mammals

210

🦎 Reptiles

136

🐸 Amphibians

51

1019 Total Species

841 Global average across 280 parks

43 Threatened 138 Endemic

🔭

Sighting

Good

How likely to see animals?

3.6 Global avg

3.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

🎯

Top-12 Avg Probability

62% Global avg

61%

📊

Coverage (202 species at ≥5% of 1019 in the inventory)

24% Global avg

20%

🔀

Taxon variety in top 12 (11 bird, 1 reptile)

47% Global avg

20%

🔭

Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)

132 Global avg

130

🌟

Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)

14 Global avg

8

⭐

High-prob species (>40%)

26 Global avg

19

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