Santa Rosa National Park
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
🐢 Olive Ridley ArribadaSanta Rosa protects the largest remaining tropical dry forest in Central America — a unique ecosystem where trees shed their leaves in the dry season, creating open canopy conditions ideal for wildlife spotting. The park is home to olive ridley sea turtle mass nestings (arribadas) at Playa Nancite, one of the most important nesting sites in the world.
10.853° N 85.672° W
Wildlife
⭐ Iconic Species
★ 
Pacific Ridley
Lepidochelys olivacea
★ 
Central American White-faced Capuchin
Cebus imitator
★ 
Mantled Howler Monkey
Alouatta palliata
★ 
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana
Ctenosaura similis
📊 Most Spotted
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
Milk Frog
Trachycephalus macrotis
Hoffmann's Woodpecker
Melanerpes hoffmannii
Sheep Frog
Hypopachus variolosus
Central American Agouti
Dasyprocta punctata
Banded Wren
Thryophilus pleurostictus
White-tipped Dove
Leptotila verreauxi
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Great Curassow
Crax rubra
Rufous-backed Wren
Campylorhynchus capistratus
Squirrel Cuckoo
Piaya cayana
Rufous-capped Warbler
Basileuterus rufifrons
⭐ Iconic Species
★ Central American White-faced Capuchin
Cebus imitator
★ Mantled Howler Monkey
Alouatta palliata
📊 Most Spotted
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
Central American Agouti
Dasyprocta punctata
Central American Spider Monkey
Ateles geoffroyi
White-nosed Coati
Nasua narica
Northern Tamandua
Tamandua mexicana
Common Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Variegated Squirrel
Sciurus variegatoides
Big-eared Climbing Rat
Ototylomys phyllotis
Baird's Tapir
Tapirella bairdii
Gray Fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Derby's Woolly Opossum
Caluromys derbianus
Salvin's Spiny Pocket Mouse
Liomys salvini
📊 Most Spotted
Hoffmann's Woodpecker
Melanerpes hoffmannii
Banded Wren
Thryophilus pleurostictus
White-tipped Dove
Leptotila verreauxi
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Great Curassow
Crax rubra
Rufous-backed Wren
Campylorhynchus capistratus
Squirrel Cuckoo
Piaya cayana
Rufous-capped Warbler
Basileuterus rufifrons
White-Throated Magpie-Jay
Calocitta formosa
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus tyrannulus
Inca Dove
Columbina inca
Yellow-olive Flycatcher
Tolmomyias sulphurescens
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
Slender Hognose Viper
Porthidium ophryomegas
Rhombic Cat-eyed Snake
Leptodeira rhombifera
Central American Rattlesnake
Crotalus simus
Central American Lyresnake
Trimorphodon quadruplex
Central American Banded Gecko
Coleonyx mitratus
Black-banded Cat-eyed Snake
Leptodeira nigrofasciata
Cope's Black-striped Snake
Coniophanes piceivittis
Central American Boa
Boa imperator
Yellowbelly Gecko
Phyllodactylus tuberculosus
Blackbelly Racerunner
Aspidoscelis deppii
Central American Coral Snake
Micrurus nigrocinctus
American Crocodile
Crocodylus acutus
📊 Most Spotted
Milk Frog
Trachycephalus macrotis
Sheep Frog
Hypopachus variolosus
Mexican Smilisca
Smilisca baudinii
Giant Marine Toad
Rhinella horribilis
Guayaquil Dwarf Frog
Engystomops pustulosus
Yellow Toad
Incilius luetkenii
Stauffer's Tree Frog
Scinax staufferi
Forrer's Grass Frog
Lithobates forreri
Turbo White-lipped Frog
Leptodactylus poecilochilus
Mexican Burrowing Toad
Rhinophrynus dorsalis
Dry Forest Toad
Incilius coccifer
Yellow Treefrog
Dendropsophus microcephalus
Recent sightings in Santa Rosa National Park
LIVEiNaturalistAnimal Events
1Olive Ridley Turtle Arribada
In one of nature's great synchronized spectacles, thousands of olive ridley sea turtles storm the same beach together over a few nights, hauling their bodies up the sand to dig nests shoulder to shoulder. This mass nesting, known as an arribada, turns the shoreline into a churning field of flippers and freshly laid eggs.
2Dry Season Wildlife Congregation
As the tropical dry forest bakes and waterholes shrink to a few precious pools, wildlife is forced into the open to drink. White-faced capuchins, mantled howler monkeys, and white-tailed deer converge on the last remaining water, making animals that are usually scattered and hidden easy to spot in one place.
3Dry Forest Birding Season
When the dry forest sheds its leaves, the bare branches strip away the canopy's cover and lay the birds bare to view. The turkey-sized great curassow struts in plain sight, raucous white-throated magpie-jays move through in noisy flocks, and male long-tailed manakins pair up to perform their acrobatic cartwheeling courtship dance.
Sighting Calendar
Average chance of spotting the park's most-spotted species, month by month
- 1Olive Ridley Turtle Arribada
- 2Dry Season Wildlife Congregation
- 3Dry Forest Birding Season
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
Essentials
Climate
What visitors saw
Quick answers
What animals can you see in Santa Rosa National Park?
The most likely sightings are Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (seen by about 80% of wildlife watchers), White-tailed Deer (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Central American White-faced Capuchin (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Milk Frog (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers), Hoffmann's Woodpecker (seen by about 70% of wildlife watchers) — among 830 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.
When is the best time to visit Santa Rosa National Park for wildlife?
July has the highest combined sighting rate for the park's top species in our month-by-month GBIF data. The full sighting calendar on this page shows each species' best months.
Can you see Pacific Ridley in Santa Rosa National Park?
It's possible but not guaranteed: about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific Ridley sighting in Santa Rosa National Park, based on 3 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. Sightings take luck and time in the field.
Can you see Central American White-faced Capuchin in Santa Rosa National Park?
Yes — about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Central American White-faced Capuchin sighting in Santa Rosa National Park, based on 134 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Mantled Howler Monkey in Santa Rosa National Park?
Yes — about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Mantled Howler Monkey sighting in Santa Rosa National Park, based on 65 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Can you see Black Spiny-tailed Iguana in Santa Rosa National Park?
Yes — about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Black Spiny-tailed Iguana sighting in Santa Rosa National Park, based on 313 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
Where Wildlife Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife?Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
