Squirrel Monkeys at Lapa Rios Ecolodge

The squirrel monkey is the smallest monkey of Costa Rica it is also the most threatened primate of Central America. The Osa Peninsula where Lapa Rios is located is home to the biggest population, left over here we still see big groups of up to 45 individuals. These cute looking monkeys forage through the forest with incredible speed and accuracy looking below every leaf and in every nook and cranny for small animals, they mostly feed on invertebrates and fruit but they are able to change their diet to small vertebrates, nectar and fruits when insect abundances are low. They are very easy to recognize because of their size and lighter colorings they are also the only species that doesn’t have a prehensile tail but rather use it as a rudder when making their incredibly far leaps trough the trees. In the Osa Peninsula we have the privilege to host all four species present in Costa Rica.