Ninia maculata
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Ninia maculata, the Pacific banded coffee snake or spotted coffee snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Coffee Snake sighting in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 43 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Coffee Snake in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, July–August, October and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Coffee Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Spotted Coffee Snake sightings, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Arenal Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Braulio Carrillo National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Spotted Coffee Snake that you can see in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Chicken Snake (about 10%), Green Rat Snake (about 10%) and Puffing Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Coffee Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
