All 2 in 3 days here: ~10%
Santa Rosa National Park
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Guanacaste, Costa Rica 830 spp. recorded
Santa 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
🦜 Nature
432 Species sighted
23,957 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Dec Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 490 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
Recent sightings in Santa Rosa National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
53Jan
49Feb
47Mar
43Apr
50May
51Jun
51Jul
43Aug
45Sep
46Oct
43Nov
65Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Casona
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana~90%+10%
White-tailed Deer~80%≈
Milk Frog~80%+10%
Sheep Frog~80%+10%
Central American White-faced Capuchin~80%+10%
Central American Agouti~70%+10%
Mantled Howler Monkey~60%+10%
Mexican Smilisca~60%+10%
Giant Marine Toad~50%+10%
Guayaquil Dwarf Frog~50%+10%
Great Curassow~50%-10%
Rhombic Cat-eyed Snake~50%≈
-
Sector Playa Naranjo
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- Black Spiny-tailed Iguana>90%+10%
Blackbelly Racerunner~80%+50%- Central American White-faced Capuchin~80%+10%
- White-tailed Deer~80%≈
- Rhombic Cat-eyed Snake~50%+10%
White-tipped Dove~50%-10%
White-Throated Magpie-Jay~50%≈- Mantled Howler Monkey~40%-10%
Slender Hognose Viper~40%-10%- Mexican Smilisca~40%≈
Central American Lyresnake~40%≈
Yellow Toad~40%≈
-
Sector Pocosol, ACG
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- White-tailed Deer~70%≈
- Black Spiny-tailed Iguana~60%-20%
- Rhombic Cat-eyed Snake~60%+10%
- Yellow Toad~60%+20%
- Milk Frog~60%-10%
- Mexican Smilisca~60%+10%
Hoffmann's Woodpecker~50%-10%
Central American Boa~50%+20%
Black-banded Cat-eyed Snake~50%+20%- Giant Marine Toad~50%≈
Dry Forest Toad~50%+30%- Central American Lyresnake~50%+10%
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Cuajiniquil (Murciélago)
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- Black Spiny-tailed Iguana~80%≈
Common Raccoon~70%+60%
Variegated Squirrel~70%+50%- Slender Hognose Viper~60%+10%
- Giant Marine Toad~60%+10%
Great Kiskadee~50%≈- Hoffmann's Woodpecker~50%-20%
- Mexican Smilisca~50%≈
- Milk Frog~50%-20%
- White-Throated Magpie-Jay~50%≈
- Mantled Howler Monkey~40%-10%
Central American Coral Snake~40%+10%
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Cuajiniquil · upper portion of entrance road
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Central American Spider Monkey~90%+40%- Slender Hognose Viper~60%+10%
Stauffer's Tree Frog~60%+20%- Milk Frog~60%-10%
- Hoffmann's Woodpecker~60%-10%
- Great Kiskadee~50%≈
- Central American White-faced Capuchin~40%-30%
- Central American Agouti~40%-20%
- Central American Boa~40%+10%
- Mexican Smilisca~40%-10%
Central American Rattlesnake~40%≈- Sheep Frog~40%-20%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.0
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 503
🐒 Mammals 190
🦎 Reptiles 109
🐸 Amphibians 28
830 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
28 Threatened 68 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
4.3
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
64% 📊
Coverage (266 species at ≥5% of 830 in the inventory)
32% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (5 bird, 4 mammal, 2 amphibian, 1 reptile)
91% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
133 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
20 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
39 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.5
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism High Low
Trails Moderate Medium
World Heritage Yes Bonus
Before you go
What animals can you see in Santa Rosa National Park?
830 species
Santa Rosa National Park has 830 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (about 80%), White-tailed Deer (about 70%), Central American White-faced Capuchin (about 70%), Milk Frog (about 70%) and Sheep Frog (about 70%). Among birds, the most-seen is Hoffmann's Woodpecker (about 60%).
When is the best time to visit Santa Rosa National Park for wildlife?
July
In that month the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 50% in November.
Can you see a 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 on a given day, based on 134 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is July (about 90%).
Can you see a 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 on a given day, based on 62 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January, July and November (about 60%).
Can you see a 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 on a given day, based on 306 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is July–August, October and December–January (about 90%).
Where in Santa Rosa National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Casona
The richest sighting zone is around Casona, followed by Sector Playa Naranjo and Sector Pocosol, ACG, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Santa Rosa National Park good for wildlife watching?
4.2 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Santa Rosa National Park rates 4.2/5: 88th of 316 parks worldwide and 10th in Central America. 44 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
