65 species of mammals have been registered, among these collared peccaries (Dicotyles pecari and Tayassu tajacu), tapir (Tapirus bairdii) and species of cats of great importance such as jaguars, cougars, ocelots (Panthera onca, Puma concolor, Leopardus pardalis).
There are also abundant and excellent habitats to support a significant population of manatees (Trichechus manatus).
Name: Spider monkey.
Scientific name: Ateles geoffroyi.
Natural history: In danger of extinction. It is an active species throughout the day and moves rapidly between branches with its arms and tail to aid movement. Its body is slim and the limbs long. It has two types of coloration: reddish-brown or dark gray.
They move in large groups, of 15 to 40 individuals, which are sometimes divided into smaller groups. Their diet is basically fruit, with some flowers and leaves. Females have a gestation period of 225 days and can take two to three years for them to become pregnant again.
They have a single young, and reproduce every two or four years, at birth the young weigh approximately 500 g. they maintain a close relationship with their mother for the first three months. When a mother gives birth, it carries the child on its belly and when it is two months old it rides it on the mothers back.
Lactation lasts 1 year, but during this period this reduces little by little, aiding their weaning, around three months they begin to eat solid food. The communication system is complex and consists of vocalizations, facial expressions, body positions, and chemical signals.
The signaling behavior by adult males consists of records of secretions from a pectoral gland on the branches or on the foliage. Their howls are used to warn of the presence of predators or a land invasion.
Name: Jaguar.
Scientific name: Panthera onca.
Natural history: In danger of extinction. The jaguar, although it prefers dense and humid jungles, can accommodate a wide variety of wooded or open terrain. It is closely associated with the presence of water as it is a feline that likes to swim. It is fundamentally solitary, hunting by ambushing, being opportunistic when choosing prey.
It is a key species for the stabilization of the ecosystems in which it inhabits. The Jaguar, or tiger as it is commonly called, is classified as a threatened species and its number is in decline.
Threatening factors include habitat loss and fragmentation. This animal is frequently killed by humans, especially in conflicts with ranchers. Females reach sexual maturity approximately between 12 and 24 months of age and males between 24 and 36 months.
It is believed that in the wild they mate throughout the year, although the number of births increases during the rainy season. The female’s heat lasts 6-17 days out of a complete 37-day cycle; females indicate that they are fertile with urinary scent and increased vocalization.
During courtship both sexes cover a larger territory than usual. The gestation period lasts between 93 and 105 days; females usually give birth to 2 young, although the number can range from 1 to 4.
The mother does not tolerate the presence of males after the birth of the young, due to the risk of cannibalism. Their typical longevity (life age) in the wild is estimated to be about 11-12 years; in captivity it can live up to 25 years, having even registered a female that reached 32 years, which places it among the oldest felines.
The adult jaguar is a superpredator, therefore it is found at the top of the food chain and has no predators in the wild. A Mayan story says that the end of the World will come when jaguars rise from the underworld to devour the Sun and the Moon and perhaps the universe … and an eclipse will be a sample of the final event.
Name: Mantled howler monkey.
Scientific name: Alouatta palliata.
Natural history: It is large in size with black or dark brown fur. Emits a loud howl that can be heard at long distance. They travel in groups of 10 to 20 individuals. They feed on fruits, flowers and leaves occasionally.
Females have their first offspring around two years of age. The gestation period lasts 6 months and the interval between each birth is almost 2 years, they are animals of diurnal habits, sedentary and have little social activity.
Both males and females leave the groups where they were born when they reach sexual maturity, therefore in most adult groups, the individuals are not related. The dominant or alpha male has priority in access to food, resting places and receptive females.
They are territorial animals, the males have a hollow bone near the vocal cords that amplify the calls that it makes, allowing it to howl, mainly at dawn and dusk, to inform other monkeys of its presence.
Ecological niche: the howler monkey is important to the ecology of the rainforest, as it plays a role as a seed disperser and germinator. Although it is sensitive to deforestation, it can adapt better than other species, due to its ability to feed on large numbers of leaves and live in limited spaces.
Name:White-faced capuchin.
Scientific name: Cebus capucinus.
Natural history: Species in danger of extinction. In the wild, the White-faced Capuchin is versatile, living in various types of forests and eating many types of food including fruits, plant material, invertebrates (ticks, spiders, grasshoppers, termites, wasps and beetles) and in some cases small vertebrates.
It has been reported that around 20% of the foods consumed by the white face are of animal origin, 65% are fruits and 15% are vegetative parts. They live in groups that can reach 20 individuals, including both males and females.
The use of tools by these Monkeys has been recognized as weapons or instruments to obtain food. Normally this monkey forages (up to 28% of its time) at all levels of the forest, as well as on the ground.
Commonly used methods of obtaining food include peeling bark from trees, searching through litter, breaking dead branches, and using stones as anvils to break hard fruit. Their prehensile tail is an advantage during feeding, helping them to maintain themselves when foraging below branches. They drink water from the holes in the trees, but they also go down to the ground to drink from small puddles and springs.
Migrant males often murder infants of the groups from which they take power. Females usually go to the defense of their infants to avoid infanticide, but they are rarely successful.
This behavior is related to the maternal instincts of females while they are lactating. In this way, males induceestrus in females, by killing their infants and thus ending lactation.
Name: Ocelot.
Scientific name: Leopardus pardalis.
Natural history: Species in danger of extinction. The Ocelot is the third largest feline on the American continent, inhabiting exclusively in tropical forests. It is solitary and terrestrial, it presents great ability to climb trees.
Agile arboreal hunter, nocturnal and accurate in its attacks. While the Jaguar hunts on the ground, the Ocelot hunts from the trees. Their favorite prey areCentral American Agoutis, Collared Peccarys, Monkeys and other small mammals.
The name comes from “ocelli” or black spots that dot its skin. They spend a good part of their activity searching for food.
Its area of action is extensive, estimated at 12.4 km². The female can have between one and three young after a gestation period that takes between 79 and 85 days.
Name: Baird’s tapir.
Scientific name: Tapirus bairdii.
Natural history: Endangered due to indiscriminate hunting and loss of habitat. Tapirs are the largest mammals in the forest, they can weigh more than 600 pounds (between 150 and 300 kg) eat plants, seeds and fruits and seem to prefer swampy and very humid places.
Tapirs have been hunted almost to extinction and are rare. Mating can occur at any time of the year (Ceballos and Oliva, 2005).
They have a low reproductive rate: one calf every two years under ideal conditions, the gestation period varies between 390 to 400 days (13 months approximately), after which one calf is born or very rarely two.
They are solitary, very active during the first and last hours of the night, they can occasionally move during the day in areas with little human activity.
Communication between relatives consists of very high-pitched, whistling-like vocalizations. They are excellent swimmers and divers, they are able to cross rivers by walking on the bottom of them.
The foraging and transit activities of tapirs seem to significantly influence the structure and dynamics of forest vegetation since they are important dispersers and / or predators of many plant species, which is why the tapir plays an important role in the dynamics of the tropical forests where it lives.
Name: Cougar.
Scientific name: Puma concolor.
Natural history: Species in danger of extinction. The cougar is another class of large cat, but only when it is juvenile does it have spots; the adult is orange-red in color with a black dot tail.
It inhabits dry forests, humid forests, and gallery forests. During the mating period they meow in a manner like a cat. When hunting it is very quiet.
It is lonely although the female lives together with his young for one or two years to teach them to hunt. Its population density is 0.09 individuals / km2 in dense forests. They can live up to 20 years.
Their gestation is approximately 3 months and they have litters of 1 to 4 young. The young are born with yellowish fur and black spots, which they lose when they are 6 months old.
It is carnivorous and feeds on a wide variety of animals, the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) being one of its main prey. It also feeds on mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata), white-faced capuchin (Cebus capucinus),and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).
Name: Three-toed sloth.
Scientific name: Bradypus variegatus.
Natural history: The female has one young per litter and is born in the months of June, August or September, they are herbivores, with “guarumo” (Cecropia spp.) being one of their favorite foods. They are solitary and arboreal. They hang under the branches.
These sloths live almost all the time hanging upside down from the branches, for which they have long, curved and sharp nails that act as powerful hooks that support the weight of their bodies, which ranges from two to five kilograms.
This position has given rise to several adaptations, such as that the hair is not divided on the back but on the chest. So when it rains and since they live hanging, the water slides down from the chest.Similarly, they have reversed the position of the liver, spleen and pancreas within the body.The head, which is almost round, can be turned 180 degrees on its vertical axis and almost 360 degrees on its horizontal axis.
Another feature is its characteristic lethargy, whose most obvious manifestation are the sloth’s slow movements, which according to Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo who was considered the first chronicler of the Indies, led the Spaniards to believe it was called the opposite, and called the sloth “light”, more precisely they called it the “light parakeet”.
Among its characteristics is its slow metabolism that allows it to relieve itself only weekly, for which it performs a truly curious procedure, it consists of descending a trunk, and without going down to the ground, opening a hole with the tail, which after defecating , covers again.
They also have little control of their body temperature, since when it is hot it rises notably and drops radically when it is cold, and can range between 24º C and 33º C.
Sloths spend three-quarters of their time asleep and when they are awake almost all they do is eat leaves of guarumo and some other trees.
The female emits a loud, strident wail during the mating season to attract males. It is a scream that sounds like “ay ay”. Unfortunately it is attacked by people who consider it evil.
Name: Manatee.
Scientific name: Trichechus manatus.
Natural history: Species in danger of extinction. It is a large animal that has a fish-like appearance with a rounded terminal fin in the shape of a spatula. Its skin is finely wrinkled, five centimeters thick, generally covered by algae and small mollusks.
The head widens and joins to the body without neck or shoulders. It does not have any hind limbs but manatees have flexible front limbs and paddles or fins, which are used to help move on the sea floor, scratch, touch and even hug other manatees, to move food in and facilitate cleaning the mouth.
It is approximately 3 m. long, and weighs between 400 and 600 kg, the females being generally larger than the males. The largest manatees can weigh up to 1,500 kg. and measure up to 4.6 m.
It has an opportunistic style of feeding, with adults consuming a quantity of aquatic plants equal to between 10% and 15% of their body weight daily. They feed on about 60 species of plants, including sea grasses that represent their staple food.
Although females are usually solitary creatures, they form mating herds while in heat. Most females successfully calve between the ages of seven and nine, although they are capable of reproducing as early as four years of age.
The gestation period is twelve to fourteen months. It normally gives birth to a single calf, although on rare occasions two are born. The females have young every 2-5 years. They can live up to 60 years in a wild environment, although their life expectancy is lower.
The greatest threats to this species are death from collisions with boats with outboard motors, entanglement in fishing nets and poaching.
Other than humans, manatees have very few natural predators. In marine habitats, sharks and killer whales; in fluvial habitats, crocodiles, and in South America also jaguars.
Name: Northern tamandua.
Scientific name: Tamandua mexicana.
Natural history: Species in danger of extinction due to loss of its habitat. They are diurnal and solitary; partially terrestrial and arboreal. This species has gold-colored head and legs, and on the belly and lower part of the back it is black in a vest-style coloring.
Its coat is hard, its head is elongated and narrow, the female has only one young per birth. It is born in summer after 190 days of gestation. After a week of life, he opens his eyes. A few hours after being born, the calf is carried on the mother’s back, holding on with her hands.
The calf is placed in such a way that its black stripe overlaps with that of its mother, achieving a perfect camouflage and going unnoticed. Its diet includes ants and termites, a study done in Panama revealed that this animal can eat up to 9000 ants in just one day.
To get its food, the anteater uses smell; he walks in the forest trying to smell an ant or termite nest, when a nest is found it is broken into using large nails.
Man has hunted this animal since ancient times. Some natives killed them with sticks, previously cornered by dogs, and others harassed them by chasing them on horseback until they were tired.
The purpose of hunting was the use of meat, skin and hair. With the leather they made various containers and items of saddlery and with the hard bristles of the tail, combs.
Name: Giant anteater.
Scientific name: Myrmecophaga tridactyla.
Natural history: In danger of extinction due to the loss of its habitat and hunting. Its body measures between 100 and 120 cm in length and its tail is 60 to 90 cm; weighs 25 to 39 kg.
The tongue is 60 cm long and is covered by an adherent substance to capture the insects on which it feeds.
It lacks teeth. It is easily recognizable by its long cylindrical snout and bushy tail, with long, thick bristles that it holds upright.
Its limbs are strong, in the front it rests on the knuckles and its hands have 5 fingers, of which 4 are visible and only three have their very strong characteristic claws, especially the claw of its third finger that is curved backwards when the animal walks on its wrists.
It also has 5 toes with minor nails on the hind legs on which the entire sole rests. Sometimes it gallops to find food or to flee from predators, which, if it is the case, it faces with its claws.
As he does not have good eyesight, he is guided by his nose, which is very acute and with it he locates the ant hills and termite mounds and then excavates them. Its territory varies from 9 to 25 km2. The gestation period is 190 days, after which a calf of approximately 1.3 kg is born.
It is weaned at 4 to 6 weeks and then carried on the mother’s back until around 1 year, when it is almost fully grown and a new mating period arrives. Sexual maturity is reached between 2.5 to 4 years.
Name: Jaguarundi.
Scientific name: Puma yagouaroundi.
Natural history: Species in danger of extinction. They live in dry forests, gallery forests, humid forests, secondary forests, and are regularly observed in cultivated areas.
It is the feline that best adapts to altered habitats in the Neotropics. Carnivore that feeds on bush mice, and birds, bird eggs.
Unlike other cats, the Jaguar usually walks in the day and makes various types of noises: Jaguarundi whistle, purr, and squeal. It is good for climbing trees and swimming in water.
Name: Nine-banded Armadillo.
Scientific name: Tayassu tajacu.
Natural history: It is said that there are armadillos everywhere, many people like to hunt and eat them, their shell is sometimes used to make ornaments.
Armadillos have a very varied diet, scientists have come to count almost 500 different things that armadillos eat, including insects, mazamorras, fruits, eggs and frogs. The young are born at the beginning of the year and the litter varies from 4-8 young.
It is a solitary animal, most active at night. Theydig 4 or more burrows that can measure 3 to 4 meters deep. One is used as a home, while the others are used for shelter when chased.
When they dig the ground, the nose and front legs; they accumulate the extracted earth in mounds that they then throw away with a blow from their hind legs.
During excavation, they hold their breath (keeping air in their bronchial tubes and trachea) sometimes for up to 6 minutes, thus preventing dirt from entering their airways.
If frightened, they flee quickly, disappearing before the eyes of the intruder and, once in their burrows, it is almost impossible to remove them because they point strongly with their back and their legs at the walls and ceiling of the gallery.
When caught, they fold back on themselves to protect their belly, which is the most vulnerable part. Its main predators are dogs, coyotes, pumas and jaguars. During the period of activity, they are trotting, emitting grunts, inserting their noses in all the cracks in the ground, in a continuous search for food.
Mating takes place in mid-July, copulation apparently occurs with the female lying on the back of the male, after which each follows a different path.
Name: Red Brocket.
Scientific name: Manzama americana.
Natural history: It is herbivorous, it feeds on fruits, fungi, fallen flowers; the mating can occur throughout the year, mainly in the middle. The gestation period lasts from 200 to 225 days and the litter can be one or two young.
The duration of its life ranges from 10 to 15 years approximately. Only the male has antlers or horns, short, thick at the root, spiky, unbranched (which differentiates it from the White-tailed Deer) and rarely reaches 12 centimeters long.
They are the only mammals that grow new antlers or horns every year. The males develop them from the first year of age, increasing in size and complexity as the individual matures; males use them during the mating season when they compete for females.
At the beginning of the day, it begins to move among the foliage, aware of the proximity of the other animals and looking for somewhere to drink water to quench its thirst. they bend over a lot to sniff the ground and raises their long ears repeatedly when they hear suspicious noise.
During the day it rests deep in the mountains. Due to its shy nature, it waits for the sunset to move more freely. Unlike the White-tailed Deer, it is a species more sensitive to changes in its habitat.
Name:White-nosed Coati.
Scientific name: Nasua narica.
Natural history: The White-nosed Coati lives in dry forests, humid forests, secondary forests, and underbrush. It is omnivorous and forages both on the ground and on top of trees.
It feeds on fruits, eggs of birds and turtles, lizards, crabs, toads, frogs, insects, mice, snakes. It is active in the day.
The adult male is solitary (except in the mating season) but the females and their young live in a highly social group. The female only leaves the group at the time of giving birth to her young and lives with them without returning to the group for a period of 5 months.
The male walks alone around his territory and only joins a group to find a female, the male leaves his scent throughout his territory when they reach about two years of age and with it maturity, they leave the herd.
From the solitary male comes the phrase so popular in our country “walks like a Coati alone”, which is applied to that person who walks or is alone. They are preyed upon by the boa, coyote and tayra.
Name: White-tailed deer.
Scientific name: Odocoileus virginianus.
Natural history: The white-tailed deer can live in various places, including high mountains, flatlands, and in marshes. It is an animal characterized by a long and relatively thick neck, long legs, elongated snout and large ears, it can run up to 40 miles / hour and is a very good swimmer.
It feeds on grasses, fungi and young branches of shrubs. This species does not generally form large groups and the basic social unit is composed of an adult female, her daughter and the two young from the most recent season.
Reproduction can occur throughout the year although they are sexually mature at one year. Gestation lasts from 195 to 212 days.
During the mating period, the males fight over the females until one of them, usually the largest and strongest, wins the right to mate with them.
Generally, the female gives birth to 1 young in her first litter and 2 subsequently; sometimes 3 or even 4. An interesting fact about the white-tailed deer is that it has a scent gland between its feet, as it walks it leaves that scent to communicate with the other deer. They generally do not live more than 10 years in free life, but it is estimated that they can live around 20 years.
Name: White-lipped peccary.
Scientific name: Tayassu pecari.
Natural history: This animal is similar to the collared peccary, but is larger, measures about a meter, and weighs from fifty to one hundred pounds, the coat is dark reddish, but in the parts under the lip and on the neck are white.
It also lives in herds, but these are larger, between 20 and 100 animals, depending on the quality of their habitat. It is heavily pressured by commercial hunting for the taste and value of its meat, which, in addition to the reduction of forests, could cause a drastic decline in its populations.
The White-lipped Peccary is an animals that makes a lot of noise; they growl to communicate with each other and chatter their fangs, people say that the isWhite-lipped Peccary braver than the Collared Peccary; If the pack gets angry and you are among them, the only way to be safe is to climb a thick, tall tree nearby. The litters are 2 young. It feeds on fruits, roots, leaves, and bird eggs. They are diurnal animals.
Name: Collared peccary.
Scientific name: Tayassu tajacu.
Natural history: It is an animal hunted for its meat, leather or for sport. Medium in size, with a robust body, large head and short legs. The general appearance is reminiscent of a pig with a solid body, the coat is grayish.
The hatchlings are brown to reddish in color. Mainly active during the day. Collared Peccary’s travel in groups usually between 6 and 9 up to 20 individuals. Males are usually solitary.
They move along paths that they mark by rubbing the glands on their backs on the vegetation. These glands produce a strong odor, especially when they are alarmed.
They are very quiet and shy, so it is difficult to approach them. They usually run in a stampede when they detect the presence of people. In some areas they are considered a problem for crops. It inhabits humid wooded areas of undisturbed lowlands.
In the tropical forest they feed on fruits, palm seeds, grasses, snails and probably other small animals. Omnivore with a strong tendency to eat fruit. They can reproduce at one and a half years of age. Gestation lasts 138 days and the female usually gives birth to two young.
Name: Tayra.
Scientific name: Eira barbara.
Natural history: The Tayra is a long, dark animal, roughly the same size as the typical hunting dog. They like to live in wooded areas, but they are also capable of living in low mountains and sometimes on farms.
Its diet includes fruits and vertebrates, also mice and rats. There are people who have a Tayra at home to scare away mice.
They are difficult animals to observe so very little is known about them. Each Tayra is known to walk alone and bark or yip.
They have terrestrial and arboreal habits. They are of diurnal habits, sometimes twilight. The gestation period is believed to be equal to 70 days and the average number of pups per litter is two.
Name: Central American agouti.
Scientific name: Dasyprocta puntata.
Natural history: It is a small animal, mainly brown and weighs no more than five pounds. It lives all over Central America.
It is one of the animals that is most frequently seen, this is due to the fact that they live everywhere; near farms, in forests and along the banks of streams and rivers and because they walk almost only during the day, but they adopt nocturnal behavior if they feel threatened.
It feeds mainly on fruits, buries seeds in its territory and in times of food shortage they depend on those buried seeds.
A couple occupies an area of 2 to 3 hectares that they defend. It uses burrows as shelter, that it digs in the ground or between the roots of trees. The gestation period lasts between 93 and 104 days, after which the female gives birth to 1 to 3 young.
She has between two and three litters a year and they live for just over thirteen years. They are monogamous, that is, they only have one partner during their life.
During courtship the male dances frantically in front of the female and sprays urine on her, until finally the female accepts him. They have two young per litter and the gestation period is estimated to last about 44 days.
Name: Lowland paca.
Scientific name: Cuniculus paca.
Natural history: The Lowland paca is a relative of the Central American agouti but becomes larger and dark brown with spots, has nocturnal habits and almost always walks alone. It is said that even in the mating season theyare rarely seen with a female.
The female and male of the same pair are kept apart in different caves where they sleep and rest. They feed on seeds. They live in caves dug into the ground and in small cavities between the roots of trees.
They have more than one entrance and one of them is always very close to a river or stream, which they use to escape their predators by jumping into the water, they are very good swimmers. Mating takes place in the water.
The period between parturitions is 97 to 101 days in captivity and the females reproduce throughout the year. It is a species highly appreciated by hunters for its excellent meat.
