Baird’s Tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is a species of tapir that is native to Central America and northern South America. It is one of three Latin American species of tapir.

It is a large browsing mammal, roughly pig-like in shape, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia and in Costa Rica can be found in the tropical rainforest of Corcovado National Park, often times near the river banks and ocean shores.  . There are four species of Tapirs, being the Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird’s tapir and the mountain tapir. All four species of tapir are classified as endangered or vulnerable. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, including horses and rhinoceroses.

The Baird’s Tapir has a distinctive cream-colored marking on its face and throat and a dark spot on each cheek, behind and below the eye. The rest of its hair is dark brown or grayish-brown. The animal is the largest of the three American species and, in fact, the largest land mammal found in the wild from Mexico to South America. Baird’s Tapirs usually grow to 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length and 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) in height, and adults weigh 240–400 kilograms (530–880 lb). Like the other species of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot.

The gestation period is approximately 400 days, after which one offspring is born (multiple births are extremely rare). The babies, as with all species of tapir, have reddish-brown hair with white spots and stripes, a camouflage which affords them excellent protection in the dappled light of the forest. This pattern eventually fades into the adult coloration. For the first week of their lives, infant Baird’s Tapirs are hidden in secluded locations while their mothers forage for food and return periodically to nurse them, but after this time, the young follow their mothers on feeding expeditions. At three weeks of age, the young are able to swim. Weaning occurs after one year, and sexual maturity is usually reached six to twelve months later. Baird’s Tapirs can live for over thirty years.

The Ant eater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), often reffered to in spanish as Oso hormiguero, litrally, “anteating bear”, is an animal measuring up to 2.4 meters (8 feet) in length, excluding the tail, and up to 1.2 meter (4 foot) in height at the shoulder. It has a long, thin head with a large bushy tail. Its color is gray, with a broad black band, bordered with white, starting on the chest, and passing over the shoulder.  Giant Anteaters are sometimes mistaken for bears because of their claws and bushy fur. It is also a very solitary animal and very easy to observe during the Corcovado National Park Tour.

Its food mainly consists of termites, which it obtains by opening nests with its powerful sharp claws. As the insects swarm to the damaged part of their dwelling, it draws them into its mouth by means of its long, flexible, rapidly moving tongue covered with sticky saliva. Their tongue can be flicked up to 150-160 times or more per minute. A full-grown giant Anteater eats upwards of 30,000 ants and termites a day.They also have small spikes on their tongue that help keep the ants and other insects on the tongue while they get swept into the anteaters mouth.

The Ant eaters frequent the low swampy savannas, along the banks of rivers, and the depths of the humid forests in the Corcovado National Park.

The two Anteaters of the genus Tamandua, the Southern Tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) and the Northern Tamandua (Tamandua mexicana), are much smaller than the Giant Anteater, and differ essentially from it in their habits, being mainly arboreal. They inhabit the dense primeval forests of South and Central America. The usual colour is yellowish-white, with a broad black lateral band, covering nearly the whole of the side of the body.

The White-lipped Peccary, Tayassu pecari, is a peccary species found living in the  rainforest of  the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.

The white-lipped peccary is diurnal and lives in large herds of 50 to 300+ individuals, though there have been reported sightings of up to 2,000 individuals. It is an omnivorous animal, feeding on fruits, roots, tubers, palm nuts, grasses and invertebrates.  During hikes in the Corcovado Park visitors may come across these heards. but use cuation.  The white-lipped peccary is widely considered the most dangerous peccary; unlike the rather shy collared peccary, the white-lipped species will charge at any enemy if cornered, and when one of them is injured, the entire herd returns to defend it.  First-hand encounters are unforgettable experiences!

The white-lipped peccary is also found in Central America and South America. It ranges from southeast Mexico, throughout eastern Central America, to northern Argentina.