I’ve encountered tamanduas about five times in the wild. This was my first, years ago in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. I was on a solo, day-long hike and it was fun to sit quietly for about an hour as the tamandua eventually descended from high up in a tree and foraged on the ground briefly before disappearing deeper into the forest. Northern tamanduas are medium-sized anteaters that live throughout the Neotropics from southern Mexico to the extreme northwest of Peru. There is another species, the southern tamandua that lives in the bulk of tropical South America. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 86mm) ISO 400, f/3.2 at 1/30th of a second.

It’s been about five years since I posted a shot of my one and only encounter with a Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine. No doubt, one of the great names in zoology, right up there with yellow-bellied marmot, rufous-sided towhee and dusky-footed woodrat. Until I meet another, enjoy this shot from Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/50th of a second.

Only about 4,500 Baird’s tapirs remain in the wild, a thousand of them in Costa Rica where I took this photo. It is the largest mammal in Central America and the threat to its survival is twofold — both habit loss and poaching. I was able to get some pretty good looks at this rather large, but difficult to see animal. By sitting still for hours I got very close and most of my shots were with my wide angle lens, but for this exposure, I put on my longer lens for a ground-level portrait. There wasn’t a lot of light in the deep forest so I had to jack up the ISO for a useable shutter speed. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 98mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/160th of a second.

The granular poison frog is also known as the green jeans frog (for fairly obvious reasons). It’s found only in Costa Rica and Panama in a relatively small range. Habitat loss in that range has landed the frog on the vulnerable to extinction list. I found this one near a waterfall in Pavones, Costa Rica. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (with Nikon 1.7x teleconverter attached for 340mm) ISO 100, f/8 at 6 seconds.

I believe this guy to be of the species Heteragrion erythrogaster — a flatwing damselfly. He/she was being very cooperative, so I used a tripod with a very slow shutter speed of nine seconds. Photographed by the side of a waterfall in the town of Pavones in southwestern Costa Rica. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm with Canon 500D close up filter) ISO 100, f/22 at 9 seconds.

A coati emerges from an opening between a few fallen trees in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. I spent a good deal of time with a large group of these guys and was able to observe their behavior. Lighting and visibility in the forest was a challenge but I was able to get several good looks before they moved deeper into the park. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 160mm) ISO 1600, f/3.2 at 1/1000th of a second.

I photographed this kinkajou down on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. I was hiking at night by myself when I spotted him munching away on what I believe to be a rollinia fruit. I’ve never tried rollinia myself but according to the fruit’s description of tasting like “caramel and lemon merengue pie” I don’t blame the kinkajou for not immediately taking off and giving me the opportunity to aim my flashlight, gain focus, set my flashes and release the shutter. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 150mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-600 flash units.

A red-eyed tree frog gets ready for a night of croaking in Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm with Canon 500D close up filter) ISO 400,f/20 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-600 flash units.

A Baird’s tapir moves through the rainforest of Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. Tapirs are the largest land mammals in Central and South America. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 78mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/160th of a second.

I spotted this guy along the side of the road while driving to Corcovado National Park in southwestern Costa Rica. These toucans primarily eat tree fruits, but will also add lizards, insects and frogs to their diet. They can be opportunistic diners too, following keel-billed toucans around to discover their food sources. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 140mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/80th of a second.