There are many animals that call Costa Rica and the Monteverde Cloud Forest home.
But the 5 top Hertertrophs are-
1. Strawberry Poison Dart Frog
There are many qualities that make this colorful frog popular and unique. One of the most common reasons is the fact that the frog can morph, as in in can change colors. It can change from red to blue, and back again. What makes it more amzing is that this trait is rare. As in, only Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs in Coasta Rica and Panama can morph colors.
Another amazing trait about it is how small they are. These frogs aren't even an inch long. On average they are 0.69–0.87 inches long.
The Strawberry Poison Dart Frog is only poisonious in the wild. This is because of its diet wich mainly consists of subspeicies of mites and ants. But once domesticated, these frogs are usually put on a diet of fruit flies and store bought goodies wich just won't do the trick to make them toxic.
The other names for the Strawberry Poison Dart Frog is Oophaga pumilio, formerly Dendrobates pumilio.
This frog likes to have it's nest in a place where there is a clutter of leaves, places like a forest and distured areas.
When the frog becomes a parent, the parent hood is a team effort. The male protects and defends the nest while watering it. While the female feeds the newly born tadpoles.
The reasoning for their bright colors is a way they can tell their predators that they are poisonious.
Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs usually live 4-5 years in the wild, but 10-12 years in captivity.
The American Crocodile is also known as Crocodylus acutus, this would aslo be the scientific name for the American Crocodile. This large crocodile is usually about 10-13 feet long, but in Costa Rica, this beast can grow to be 13-16 feet long.
The American Crocodile is very well populated in Costa Rica, but in Mexico, Centeral, South America they are being threatened because of the loss of habitat.
American Crocodiles like the brackish and saltwater habitats. Places like wetlands, ponds, coves, creeks and canals. These types of crocodiles are shy compared to other types of crocodiles; they are rarely seen by people.
These reptiles have a diet is mainly of small fish, invertebrates, reptiles, birds and mammals.
The American Crocodile has many features that help it survive in the places where it lives. Like its webbed feet, these help the crocodile swim. Just like the ability to hold its breath for a long period of time. When the weather is warmer, they can hold their breath for up to an hour! But once it gets colder, they can hold it even longer. The American Crocodile also has the advantage against their prey becaus of the fact that their eyes, ears and nostrils are all positioned at the top of their head. This gives them the ability to show the least amount of themselves as possible, so when their prey is on land (things like birds) the victim has no idea what was coming.
These monkeys are very clever and unusually smart. White Headed Capuchin Monkey are very well known for how they use tools as weapons to help them get the food they need. They have also been spotted rubbing certain plants over themselves, the theroy for this is that they were trying to use the plants as a medical remady. Scientists think that because the monkeys do this, that is why they have such a long life span (can live to over 54 years) and the reason they aren'd endangred.
These are some of the most seen animals in Costa Rica. They usually live in groups of 40.
White Headed Capuchin Monkeys are also known as Cebus capucinus because it's their scientific name. It is also nicknamed 'ring-tail' because of the way it carries it's black tail, all coiled up.
Its diet is mainly filled primary foods like fruits, and insects. This monkey will do many things to find a meal. They use things they find as weapons and tools to help them overcome the tough outershell of some of the fruits they eat. They also will rip through the bark on the trees to find the insects.
The habitat for the White Headed Capuchin Monkey is not exactly known because of the flexibility of its habitat. It mainly just depends on whether or not the area offers the food and water supply that the monkeys need to survive.
This monkey is usually 13.2-17.8 inches tall, not including the tail, which is usually longer than the body (around 21 inches long). The White Headed Capuchin Monkey is around 8.6 pounds.
The scientific name for an Ocelot is Leopardus pardalis.
These cats are nocturnal and are about twice the size of a normal house cat. They are about 38-60 inches long, and weigh 20-30 punds.
Since they are light weight, and they have quite large feet, this makes them great tree climbers.
These beautiful cats are hunted mainly for their fur, and suffer quite a bit from the loss of habitat.
The habitat of the Ocelot includes "rain forest, montane forest, thick bush, semi-deserts, coastal marsh, and along river banks, but it is never found in open country" (Source is under the button 'About Ocelots').
The diet of this cat consist of meats; an Ocelot is a carnivor. The range of meat consists of "nocturnal rodents, such as cane mice, and marsh, spiny and rice rats, opossums and armadillos" (Source is under 'About Ocelots').
The way that this cat adapts is the fact that they have spotted and striped coats that help camaflouge them while hunting, they also have very sharp claws and are very strong which helps them take down their meal. Their sharp claws also help them climb trees which helps them get away from the preditors. One of the most unexpected adaption that the Ocelot has, is it's webbed feet. This helps the cat to be a very strong swimmer.
These sloths sleep 16-18 hours a day among the highs of the jungle canopy, and only come down once a week to go to the bathroom.
Even though these animals are very slow and lazy, they are actually very strong swimmers.
The sloths' home usually ranges about 12 acres, but the sloth will usually spend 20% of its life in one tree.
The 3 Toed Sloths diet consists of leaves, but for a sloth, this is a very tough meal. A sloth has a four part stomach that can take up to a month to diguest one meal. Scientist have a theory that this might be why they are so slow.
Sloths are about the size of a medium sized dog at about 23-27 inches and about 17.5-18.75 pounds.
The reason they spend their life in the trees is because of their 3-4 inch claws that grow from each toe which is an adaption that helps them hang in the trees to sleep and get the food that they are attuned to eating. But because of their claws, it makes it very difficult for them to walk on the ground.
A long time ago, sloths that could grow to the size of elephants roamed North America, but they became extinct 10,000 years ago.
Sloths are very unsocial and usually live a solo life by themselves.
The 3 Toed Sloth is also known as Bradypus.
The 3 Toed Sloth is criticlly endangered because of the way humans have treated them throughout their habitats. Hunters hunt these sloths becuase of their meat and eventually sell thier meat.