Cabo Pulmo National Park
🇲🇽 Mexico
North America, Mexico 481 spp. recorded
Cabo Pulmo National Park sits along the arid southeastern coast of the Baja California Peninsula, protecting a harsh tropical dry forest landscape of cacti and scrubby vegetation that meets the Sea of Cortez. Sandy desert tracks wind through scattered thorn trees where resident birds forage daily, while the surrounding marine waters hold the park's signature species, the bull shark (*Carcharhinus leucas*).
23.438° N 109.426° W
🦜 Nature
223 Species sighted
4,598 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Oct Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 338 more species with insufficient data
Recent sightings in Cabo Pulmo National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
32Jan
34Feb
31Mar
27Apr
29May
27Jun
7.1Jul
10Aug
32Sep
44Oct
34Nov
37Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Cabo Pulmo (pueblo)
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Common House Gecko~70%+40%
Cape Spinytail Iguana~70%+20%
Couch's Spadefoot~70%+30%
Zebra-tailed Lizard~60%+20%
Humpback Whale~60%+10%
White-winged Dove~50%-30%
Common Side-blotched Lizard~50%+20%
Turkey Vulture~50%-20%
Gila Woodpecker~50%-30%
Gray Fox~50%+20%
Small-scaled Lizard~50%+20%
Baja California Spiny Lizard~50%+30%
-
Playa El Arbolito
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
3.6
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 315
🐒 Mammals 86
🦎 Reptiles 61
🐸 Amphibians 3
🦈 Sharks & Rays 16
481 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
23 Threatened 88 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.4
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
66% 📊
Coverage (150 species at ≥5% of 481 in the inventory)
31% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (11 bird, 1 elasmobranch)
20% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
89 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
7 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
26 🏕️
Experience
ExcellentHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
5.0
Climate Pleasant High
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Low High
Trails Easy High
World Heritage Yes Bonus
What visitors say
We dove to around 15 meters deep and swam alongside the sand patch until we saw our first Bull Shark.
This is, by far, the most playful colony of sea lions I have ever encountered.
The afternoon saw us visited by a huge pod of dolphins and in the company of many humpback whales in the East Cape region of Baja California.
We saw many large splashes today as whales breached or energetically slapped their flukes down on the water surface.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Cabo Pulmo National Park?
481 species
Cabo Pulmo National Park has 481 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are White-winged Dove (about 80%), Gila Woodpecker (about 80%), Bull Shark (about 80%), Turkey Vulture (about 70%) and Northern Cardinal (about 70%). Among mammals, the most-seen is California Sea Lion (about 50%); among reptiles, Cape Spinytail Iguana (about 50%); among amphibians, Couch's Spadefoot (about 40%).
When is the best time to visit Cabo Pulmo National Park for wildlife?
February–May, October and December
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 60% in January, June, September and November. Those are among Cabo Pulmo National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 120 mm in September.
Can you see a Bull Shark in Cabo Pulmo National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Bull Shark sighting in Cabo Pulmo National Park on a given day, based on 119 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April–June, August and October–January (about 90%).
Can you see a Humpback Whale in Cabo Pulmo National Park?
Yes
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Humpback Whale sighting in Cabo Pulmo National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March and December–January (about 60%).
Can you see a California Sea Lion in Cabo Pulmo National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a California Sea Lion sighting in Cabo Pulmo National Park on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January (about 70%).
Can you see a Cape Spinytail Iguana in Cabo Pulmo National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Spinytail Iguana sighting in Cabo Pulmo National Park on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June–July and September–October (about 70%).
Where in Cabo Pulmo National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Cabo Pulmo (pueblo)
The richest sighting zone is around Cabo Pulmo (pueblo), followed by Playa El Arbolito, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Cabo Pulmo National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.5 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Cabo Pulmo National Park rates 3.5/5: 201st of 316 parks worldwide and 29th in North America. 33 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
