All 2 in 3 days here: ~30%
Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park
🇲🇽 Mexico
Quintana Roo, Mexico 509 spp. recorded
Cozumel protects the reef along the island's southwest shore, and the land behind it carries the animals a visitor actually walks up to. Spiny-tailed iguanas hold every wall and path on nine visits in ten, and white-nosed coatis work the coastal scrub on nearly as many.
20.276° N 87.019° W
🦜 Nature
321 Species sighted
72,406 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Mar Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 278 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
Recent sightings in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
46Jan
46Feb
50Mar
47Apr
42May
39Jun
43Jul
41Aug
47Sep
48Oct
50Nov
47Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
El Cedral (Pueblo)
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Laguna Columbia-Torre de Observación
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Occidental Cozumel
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Planetario Cha'an Ka'an de Cozumel
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Humedal Costera Sur
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana>90%+10%
Brown Anole~80%+20%
Green Iguana~80%+20%
Tropical Mockingbird~60%-30%
White-nosed Coati~50%-20%
Great-tailed Grackle~50%-30%
Brown Basilisk~50%+10%
Green Sea Turtle~50%+20%
Common House Gecko~50%+20%
Saint George Island Gecko~50%+20%
Central American Spider Monkey~40%+30%
Bananaquit~40%-50%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
Medium
Typical stay
1–2
daysTrails
Easy
World Heritage
No
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?
3.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 347
🐒 Mammals 96
🦎 Reptiles 48
🐸 Amphibians 10
🦈 Sharks & Rays 8
509 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
20 Threatened 57 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.9
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
77% 📊
Coverage (156 species at ≥5% of 509 in the inventory)
31% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (8 bird, 2 elasmobranch, 1 reptile, 1 mammal)
69% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
112 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
9 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
37 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
4.0
Climate Pleasant High
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism High Low
Trails Easy High
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
We started our day with a dive at Palancar Gardens, where we saw a variety of marine life including colorful fish, sea turtles, and even a school of barracudas.
We set off in hopes of seeing the Splendid Toadfish, which is endemic to Cozumel, but along the way, we also met sea turtles, sea horses, nurse sharks, spotted eagle rays, sting rays, green moray & spotted moray eels, puffer fish, scorpion fish, and so much more!
It was fun to watch the divers from up above and I got to see a Spotted Eagle Ray AND a nurse shark....that is my first shark!
Before you go
What animals can you see in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park?
509 species
Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park has 509 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Tropical Mockingbird (about 90%), Great-tailed Grackle (about 80%), Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (about 80%), Bananaquit (about 80%) and Southern Stingray (about 80%). Among mammals, the most-seen is White-nosed Coati (about 80%); among amphibians, Mexican Smilisca (about 30%).
When is the best time to visit Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park for wildlife?
November to September
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 80% on a given day, against about 70% in October.
Can you see a White-nosed Coati in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a White-nosed Coati sighting in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park on a given day, based on 241 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February, May–August and December (about 80%).
Can you see a Black Spiny-tailed Iguana in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Black Spiny-tailed Iguana sighting in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park on a given day, based on 456 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January–March, May and July (about 90%).
Can you see a Pygmy Raccoon in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Pygmy Raccoon sighting in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park on a given day, based on 100 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is February, October and December (about 60%).
Can you see a White-tailed Deer in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park?
Yes
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Deer sighting in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is August (about 40%).
Where in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around El Cedral (Pueblo)
The richest sighting zone is around El Cedral (Pueblo), followed by Laguna Columbia-Torre de Observación and Occidental Cozumel, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.7 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park rates 3.7/5: 153rd of 316 parks worldwide and 11th in North America. 44 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
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