The Secret Life of Beach Bandits: Monkeys and Raccoons Unite

You know how on most beaches there are warnings to not leave your valuables behind when going for a swim? Well not only do you have to worry about human criminals at Manuel Antonio National Park at this beach have to be cautious of animals too! Here at this park, two very different species have decided to become partners in crime. Team work is the dream work.

On my first trek through the rainforest in Costa Rica, there were two animals that I had hopes of seeing. Monkeys of course and the very colorful and loud macaws. It is always so fascinating seeing animals in their natural habitat instead of stuck behind zoo bars. At the start of my group tour, our guide explained that there is no guarantee of bird sightings. But, there are monkeys in abundance. The beach is a popular area for spider monkeys because it’s noisy and tourist feed them.

As we got closer to the beach, our guide warned us about keeping a close eye on our bags because its critters that will steal them. Most of us in the group thought it was some lame tour guide joke, but he was serious. The monkeys and raccoons are known to open bags, take out the food, run off and enjoy. Now I could totally see monkeys doing this, but raccoons too? Now that I think about it, it’s brilliant. When you see a monkey it’s like “Aww so cute”, but a raccoon “ugh, get away rabies”!! So apparently the monkeys extended their privilege with the raccoons.

As we walk closer to the beach, we quickly learn our guide told no lies. A raccoon comes racing right past us with a bag of potato chips in its mouth. We all scurry to the side as to not interfere with this strange and surreal moment. Once on the beach, it’s like the monkeys are celebrities and all us tourists turn into paparazzi. They are everywhere and really don’t seem to fear us. They even get pretty close, even the moms with babies in tow.

After capturing way too many photos, I decided to cool off in the water. No sooner than I did, I was able to witness the pure genius of the spider monkeys from afar. After collecting snacks from the tourists that actually offered, they also had a diversion. A monkey would jump down from the tree to entertain a human with its cuteness while either another money or raccoon would sneak up and go throw people’s items.

There was even a young girl on our tour who was trying to eat a banana. She wasn’t trying to tempt the animals or anything, just enjoy her a snack. Out of nowhere and monkey jumped out of a tree and snatched it out of her hand. In the moment we laughed, but she began to cry as she was so startled. It’s actually advised to not feed the animals at all because of the bacteria we may carry.

Once we left the beach we continued our trek throughout the rainforest in search of more wildlife. Unfortunately I heard many macaws, but I still didn’t actually see one or any other animals.

The beach in Manuel Antonio Park was my first tour in Costa Rica and definitely one of my favorites. I had hope to see monkeys, but nothing quite like that. If you’re ever in Costa Rica make sure to stroll down the beach to witness the show.

I ate lunch right outside the park at a cafe. It was a different type of monkey there and they were a bit more aggressive. They were running across the street and everything. It was really an experience, imagine living in an area like this!