Animals that live in the Riviera Maya in Mexico Gallery
There are a lot of different animals here that you will not see at home. We have started a collection of photos that we have taken while out and about and wanted to tell you about some of the animals that live here and where you can best see them. Many times you will see some of these animals at your resort in Playa Del Carmen or the Riviera Maya. We will continue to add to this gallery so check back.
Flamingos in Mexico
Flamingos are native to Mexico and are unlike any other birds. These birds naturally live in lagoons or large shallow lakes. Their long legs allow them to wade out into water to feed that other birds cannot reach. Flamingos are a social animal and you will always see them together with other birds.
Where to see flamingos in Mexico?
In their natural habitat there are three places especially where you can see these birds in the Yucatan Peninsula. Isla Holbox is the closest location. Rio Lagartos is a natural area at the tip of the peninsula where you can take a boat tour to see these birds. Celestun is on the other side of the peninsula and is a well know for it’s boat tours to see flamingos in their natural habitat.
You can see flamingos in several locations in the Riviera Maya. Xcaret has an aviary and near the entrance you will see these graceful birds. In the Playacar section of Playa Del Carmen there is the Xaman Ha Bird Aviary. This small bird park is seldom visited by guest to Playa but does afford you the opportunity to see flamingos and other tropical birds.
Iguanas of the Riviera Maya
Iguanas can be found all over the Riviera Maya. They like dry and rocky habitats. In Playa Del Carmen you can see them scurry under sidewalks in holes just outside of the downtown. The Mayan ruins in Playacar are a favorite hangout for iguanas. In fact every ruins you go to visit, you will see iguanas. If you are a little nervous around them, don’t worry. They are very skittish and will run away from you, so you are never in danger of having one sneak up on you.
Green Orchard Bee (Euglossa dilemma Friese)
Have you ever seen a green metallic bee? This is a special bee called the green orchard bee. The orchid bees are all members of the family Apidae, and the tribe Euglossini. Most are about the size of a honey bee, but are brightly colored with an iridescent metallic sheen. All orchid bees are native to the New World tropics, from Mexico throughout Central and tropical South America.
The name orchard bee comes from the relationship they have with orchards that produce scents to attract the bees. This symbiotic relationship offers pollination for the orchards and food for the bees.
Green orchid bees are very fast and agile flyers. They can be seen quickly flying from flower to flower separated by long periods of hovering. As with most bees, females possess a stinger and males do not. Although females can sting, they are quite timid in doing so. The sting itself is less painful than that of a honey bee, though unlike honey bees they can sting repeatedly.
Butterflies in the Yucatan Peninsula
Butterflies work hard pollinating plants here. At certain times of the year you will notice thousands of them fluttering around highways and rural roads. The Orange Yellow Sulphur butterfly is very common and feeds on nectar found in fruits and flowers. You will especially notice butterflies on the road between Tulum and Chemax, Yucatan. This is the road that take your to Coba ruins.
Tarantula Spiders in Mexico
There are currently listed 66 species of tarantulas in Mexico. Mexico is number two in the world with the amount of different species. Tarantulas hunt at night and eat grasshopper and other small insects.
You can see tarantulas often crossing the road in the Yucatan Peninsula. We see many in the Zona Maya and the road to Holbox ferry.
https://youtu.be/aFWZLh3_kcE
Spotted Skunk
You might think a skunk is a skunk but there is a special kind that can be found in the woods. Spotted skunks are the smaller relatives of the common striped skunk. They are the size of a squirrel. These elusive carnivores live across North America. And when the time comes to scare off a predator, these little guys perform a handstand and kick out their back legs.
Below is a photo of a little guy that was shy and curious. We did not get to see him do a handstand, maybe because he was not scared. It is pretty uncommon to see one.
Land snail (orthalicus princeps snail)
This snail was about one inch or a little longer. The shells are marked with white and brown markings. These often can be found on rural trails where they are a little easier to see.
Grey Fox in the Riviera Maya
We captured this grey fox on video when we were visiting Calakmul Mayan ruins. These foxes like to eat fruit, insects and small animals like rodents. The foxes like to live in logs, or burrow into the earth and make a home.
https://youtu.be/tlZUTEZamUU
Moths
This is a very large moth. This moth is about the size of an adult hand.
This is a caterpillar that will turn into a moth. This is a crinkled flannel moth. This small animal might look safe to touch but it actually has stinging hairs. DO NOT TOUCH.
Beetles
We saw these large beetles mating near El Naranjal Mayan ruins. They are about as big as your hand.
Tapirs
Tapirs are native to Mexico and are the largest land mammals in the Yucatan. They can weigh from 150-400 kilos (330-880 lbs.). Since they are so large there are not too many predators. Only crocodiles and jaguars will attack tapirs. Humans have not been too good to these animals and they are vulnerable to going on the endangered list. It is illegal to hunt them in Mexico. These animals are more active at night and like to live near water so they can swim and cool down.
Rarely will you see them in the wild. This photo was taken at Xcaret part where this one lives.
Tropical Fish
Snorkeling and diving are great ways to see the sea life. Cozumel is the most famous place to snorkel and dive but you can also see the aquarium at Xcaret. Here you can see fish, jellyfish and many other animals that live in the ocean near us.
Red Legged Hermit Crab
These guys live near the beach. You can find them in more remote beaches in the area like the south end of Play Del Carmen or Xpu Ha Beach.
Scorpions
Scorpions have a bad reputation but the good thing is you probably will not run into one here. Most scorpions like to live in hiding and are not agressive creatures. In the center of Playa Del Carmen will not have a good chance to see any of these. When it rains they like to come in to get dry and one of the only times we have seen one. The one in the photo below was crossing a sidewalk on 5th Avenue outside of the center of Playa Del Carmen near 60th Street.
Pelicans and Seagulls
Seagulls are found all up and down the coast. Here is an interesting fact: did you know that seagulls can drink both fresh water and salt water? They have a special gland that helps remove salt from their bodies.
The species of pelican most commonly found here is the brown pelican. It is one of the only pelicans that can dive into the water for food. When they come up the water drains out the sides of their bill and then they swallow their prey. In Playa Del Carmen you can see these birds usually from 12th Street to Constituyentes Avenue on the beach. This is the same area where the fishing boats are. Lucky birds get a lot of spare fish here.
The Central American Agouti
These cute little fellows are seen running in the woods and grassy areas. They are nervous around people and not very approchable. They look for nuts and fruits and like to live in burrows among stones and logs. In Playa Del Carmen you can usually see these in Playacar. If you stay at one of the resorts in the Mayan Rivera you will see these around the resort usually in the early morning hours or at dusk.
Jamaican Fruit Bats
These bats are larger then what many people are used to seeing. They work hard eating fruits and spreading seeds in nature. You can see them at dusk swooping in and out of trees, especially ones like the capulin trees with small red fruits. If you are walking nearby they might just fly very close to you. Just remember, bats help us keep nature going and work hard at night to do so.
Ghost Crabs
Ghost crabs live near the beach and are nicknamed “sand crabs”. They mostly are active at night. Their pale color gives them the name “ghost crab”. They can actually change their color to match surroundings but unlike other animals that can do this, they can only do it slowly. Ghost craps live on land but do need to moisturize their gills, so they will dig into moist sand or run into the water. They however cannot spend too much time in the water because they will drown.
You can see these crabs in more remote beaches like Xpu Ha.
Yellow Throated Warbler
If you live in the eastern United States you just might have seen this bird. The yellow throated warbler breeds in the United States and then flies mainly to the coastal areas of the Caribbean in the winter. We found this one near Coba Ruins. This would make since because it is about 45 kilometers from the coast and this area also has lagoons. This is a perfect area for this bird to feed.
Social Flycatcher Bird
Below is the social flycatcher or X’takay in Mayan. These birds are seen all over the Rivera Maya and are very easy to spot because of their yellow underbellies. They nest near water spots and sing all day. They like to eat small berries.
You can see these birds all over the Riviera Maya.
Speckled Racer Snake
We saw this beautiful snake in Playacar. These snakes are non venomous and fast movers, usually away from you. They average 30-40 inches or 76-102 cm. They like to live in vegetated areas near water because their main prey is frogs. We saw this one with a mouse in it’s mouth.
Animals you can see at Xcaret while visiting the Riviera Maya
We made this video at Xcaret of just some of the animals you can see there. Besides animals this park offers so much more! If you interested in going to Xcaret you can see our article here about visiting.
Visit the Vallazoo just two hours from the Riviera Maya
In the colonial city of Valladolid you can find the Vallazoo. This is a wildlife reserve where you can see many of the endemic animals of the Riviera Maya and Yucatan Peninsula. See our full article here about the Vallzoo.
What is your favorite animal in the Riviera Maya? Have you seen some of these? Let us know in the comment section below.
About The Author
Thank you. I am holidaying just outside Playa del Carman and have spotted the agouti with baby foraging outside my room. I have also seen a beautiful creature called a raccoon but it is certainly not like the raccoons in my garden in Vancouver. I am also enjoying thebeautiful birds around the resort but can only name two: grackle and pelican.
That is so nice you have been observing nature here! We just saw a new animal here the other day. It was a very small fox that ran across the road. It is always nice to get out and see nature and the animals!
Hello, while honeymooning on the Riviera, my wife and I were sitting on the seaside wall @ our resort. The sun was down; very little (if any) light was still visible, when we saw…….something. It appeared black, and VERY fast, and ran along the wall/beach until we lost sight of it. It wasn’t very large, but big enough for both of us to see it in almost dark conditions…….I’ve been wondering for 8 years what the heck it was… Thoughts ?
It might have been an ocelot. This is a type of small cat that looks like a miniature jaguar. They are fast and rare to be seen. This animal does live in the Yucatan Peninsula. Maybe you were lucky to have seen this.
Just saw a black opossum in playa del Carmen. Very calm and cute, albeit the tail was a little grotesque given the hairless part, but overall a very cool experience.
The raccoon likethings are Coates I believe
They are coate’s
They are so cute
The raccoon typeanimals are coati and are all over the resorts.
This is great, thanks so much for this post! I have a question. I will be living in playa del carmen soon and am very scared of spiders. Do you happen to see any in the city? If so, how big/dangerous are they? Thanks!
Hello and welcome soon to Playa! There are not that many spiders living in the city. It will depend however what part you live in. Most people live in the downtown and that area is pretty sanitized including less mosquitos. There are parts of the city that are practically up against the jungle. The one animal we are sure you will love is the tailless scorpion. It looks like a scorpion with daddy long legs legs. It is actually harmless and very good to have around for eating other insects. These are usually around water tanks or closed spots. We have only seen one in 5 years. As for tarantulas we have never seen one in Playa but have seen them cross the road going to Holbox on the tip of the peninsula. So all in all you have not too much to fear.
Hey Mr. Yucatan, thanks for your reply! I’m sorry but by downtown, what do you mean? Do you mean e.g. the area of Zazil ha? thanks!
Generally the downtown is referred to as space between the beach and the highway and Juarez to CTM Avenue.
Recently travelled to Mexico, stayed at the Bahia Principe Akumal. This is our 2nd visit to this resort and on both occasions we’ve seen some large birds, we think they’re a bird of prey, but not sure what they are. They are flying around all day long above our heads. I do have a video of 8 we watched one day, along with a larger bird of prey that was eating it’s prey, all 8 were scared of it.
What birds do you think these would these be please?
ok thank you! and even outside this area, were there any talks of any poisonous spiders e.g. brown recluse, black widow or hobo spider? or just harmless but still scary-looking spiders?
Hello Giulia
If you look at a map of Playa Del Carmen, especially a satellite map, you can see the areas where there are natural areas. Houses near to these will have more creepy crawlers. This is the tropics and they all belong here and serve a function in nature. Even if it is just to scare you. After living in the center of Playa for years I have never seen a big spider. Outside of the center there are areas where these can be found.
They’re called Magnificent Frigatebirds, I was also fascinated by them so I was determined to find out what they were, they’re a very large seabird 🙂
Hello Mr. Yucatan, thanks so much for your response. Your website is very helpful, as always! have a nice day 🙂 Giulia
Hi we are travelling to the grand occidental xerat in april. My wife has gone into panic regarding the sighting of a few pythons. Are there any dangerous snakes in that area and should she be worried.
No you should not be worried about snakes. We were in the Rivera Maya for 4 years and did not see one. Since then we have seen about 5. And that is with all the exploring we do and often in remote areas. Most of the snakes are in more natural areas. Occidental Xcaret is a nice hotel that is close to the ocean. The trails are very wide and you are likely not to be surprised at the site of any snakes. The main animals at that hotel you have to watch out for are flamingos. If you hate the sight of these awful pink calm birds, then you might want to book somewhere else. The hotel has some that live on the property. Otherwise you will enjoy your time there.
Hello, I’m doing a project for my Spanish class. I was wondering what you think the most interesting animal you’ve seen in the area
Hello. We have t say the racer snake we saw because it was such an electric blue color. It was also carrying a mouse in its mouth, so it had just caught something. That would be the most interesting animal we have seen here in the Riviera Maya.
A black haired opossum may be the coolest animal I have seen here. I also saw a small white creature in the trees in tulum but couldn’t identify it because it stayed out of the direct light and moved very quickly. I saw it around 8pm and reminded me of a Canadian weasel. Perhaps it was also an opossum, but of the white variety. However, it was extremely fast and nimble, whereas the recent opossum sighting in the playa, showed the animal to be calm and slow moving so I am not sure what it was.
The fox video was a good catch! We have lived in the Rivera Maya for 10 years and never saw one.
What is the animal that has the face of an anteater and the tail of a racoon? The staff here at our hotel called them Quatchis.
There are a few locals names but the most common is white-nosed coati.
Hi, we are cute at the Bahia principe Akumal and there is a tiny frog that comes out at night, he has a massive jump on him. Are these frogs poisonous?? One jumped on my husbands leg!! They are really small but quite cute!!
Hello. That sounds interesting. We do not know what type of frog it is. We would have to look it up in google ourselves. Maybe you can get a photo of one and see. We would be interested to know what frog it is.
I am staying at the Vidanta Grand Mayan at the children’s pool and I saw across the lake what appeared to be a large lizard with tan or orange/yellow coloring in the middle of the trees move slowly to the edge of the jungle growth. Suddenly it attack a snake which was a few feet long and up to that point not seen. The lizzards then draged the smake into the tree out of sight.
This lizard was much larger and brighter colored than an iguana.
Most interesting is that there was a walling path right under where this took place just 30 minutes ago.
You got to see some wildlife up close and in a dramatic way. Very nice!
Went to take a closer look. I believe it was an iguana. Larger than the dark green smaller reptiles I’ve seen so far. This one has to be around 4 foot long. Orange brown body with light blue/gray tones in the head area. Nice to know what lurks overhead as we walk about the resort.
We spent 5 nights at the Iberostar Toucan. Saw Coatis, Iguanas including a 3ft. one, Flamingos, monkeys in a tree outside our room, Agouti and more. What an experience for my 8 yr. old grandson. He also kissed a Dolphin at the Dolphin adventure.
The whole family REALLY enjoyed our experience
Mr.Yucatan, thank you for all the information on this page. I’ll be staying at the Grand Sirenis Hotel mid April ’17 and looking forward to getting some great wildlife photos and sharing the experience with my kids. I’m sure they will find the place very educational as animals like these can only be seen in the zoo here in Scotland. Thanks you.
I took a picture of a strange animal I saw outside a restaurant near Cancun and would like to identify it. Can you help please?
Sure Lynn. Unfortunately our comment section does not allow us to have pictures posted but you can email us at [email protected]
Hi there, we just got back from the Mayakoba property in the Reviera Maya, and we saw a bunch of animals on this trip. Our room was in the corner of the resort near water and a patch of mangrove forest, so we had a few morning visitors. There were also lots of iguanas sunning themselves midday all over the resort. We saw a pack of 6 or 7 coati one evening, and on our last morning saw a small agouti foraging behind our room. The funny thing we also saw one night were a couple of actual raccoons (not coati) that are more common from my home in Toronto! We saw loads of birds too: Pelicans, Seagulls, Chacalacas, Oriels, Cormorants, Sand pipers, and blackbirds stealing food from other guests around the pool! Love the area, and will certainly visit again.
Hello Max
That is great you got to see so much wildlife here. It is funny to see raccoons here since they are so furry but they make here in the heat. Maybe next time you are here you can check out some of the wildlife tours like going to Rio Lagartos to see birds, crocodiles and the famous flamingos, or Sian Kaan reserve where you can see many animals. We love being here and see what animals we see.
In playa del carmen we have seen on two separate occasions, a large rat like creature with a lot of teeth hit by cars in the street, what are they? Wharf rat maybe?
Hello Caroline
You are probably referring to the aguiti which looks like a large rat. These are some of the most popular animals seen in this part of the Riviera Maya. They are timid and forage the woods for food.
We are staying at riu lupita with our two year old son. After having travelled to 20+ countries, this area is absolutely grand! We have seen tons of wildlife comfortable with us humans around. Playa deal Carmen is by far the best place as a family we have visited; and can’t wait to visit again. Truly a gem, from the people, the food, the wildlife, the culture. It’s a must visit place! Thank you playa del
Carmen for an unforgettable vacation!
‘This is a crinkled flannel moth. This small animal might look safe to touch but it actually has stinking hairs. DO NOT TOUCH.’
Just as a query but did this mean to say ‘stringing hairs’? Stinking means it ‘smells bad’.
Thank you Daniel. We changed it from stinking to stinging. We don’t want people smelling this creepy crawler.
I really want to visit but I really am terrified of spiders. So is it a bad idea?
Spiders live almost everywhere in the world. We don’t think it is good to limit yourself to where you go because of some animals. If you are afraid of tarantulas then you have a very very very low chance of seeing one. We have never seen one in Playa Del Carmen. In fact in most condos, there are less spiders here then in the United States.
In the family of resorts in playcar – im staying in The Riu Yucatan . Im worried about finding snakes, crocodiles and spiders in that area – should i be worried ??
Hello Poppy
There are no crocodiles in the area where you will be staying. There are a few snakes in the woods but nothing close to the resort. It is not as “wild” in Playacar as you might think so you don’t have to worry much about running into wild animals.
What type of monkey is in this area. There have been some monkeys hanging out in Puerto Ventures and seem to be quite aggressive and menacing, the community has been telling people not to feed them. Also I have experienced many raccoons, not afraid at all. Could these animals carry rabies? Thank you Eme
It is very rare to have animals with rabies here. The monkies are spider monkies. It is good not to feed them so they keep their natural feeding habits. Animals get agessive when they know there is free food from humans.
We had a scorpion in our Playacar rental condo last January. It was 6-8cm long. Managed to trap it and return it to nature.
Mr. Yucatan,
Have you any information about the bright orange spider that lives in Tulum? There is a lot of progress in building in that area and I found the spider in the place I was staying, Since I had never seen one before I caught it and let it go outside. Not an easy task half asleep in the middle of the night. The Maya were burning fires and it was seeking shelter from that and the clear cutting of the jungle.
There are orange tarantulas but we don’t know of any other orange spiders. There is a wide array of biodiversity in the woods here that is getting pushed deeper away from development. We will be posting some small photos of little bugs we have found in the area that are very unique. Thanks for helping this spider out.
Just returned from a wonderful trip to Riviera Maya south of Playa Del Carmen . Grand Palladium Resort – saw many white-nosed coaties, racoons, Agouti, iguanas, Pink Flamingos. Just puzzled as to what rodent is similar to the Agouti BUT all BROWN and taller, with a different nose – Similar to a small capybara. They were plentiful at the resort but not coloured like the Agouti. I believe they belong to the guinea pig family. Can you please help me? I can’t find any pictures of them on this page. Thanks
That is awsome you saw so many animals on your recent trip to the Rivier Maya. We will add some more photos and names of th animals you saw. They are very common here.
Планирую в этом месяце по делам ехать в Челябинск.
Подскажите кто знает о городе.
Где можно переночевать? Куда сходить?
Может подскажите где посмотреть подробную информацию?
Заранее спасибо!)
в каком городе вы собираетесь? Место, которое вы написали, не переводится в город.
Hi, I have just booked my honeymoon to El Dorado casitas royal by karisma which is in rivier maya. Since booking this I have been told about spiders and tarantula in the area due to it being in the jungle. I am now starting to panic and would really like to know more information. Do you find these in your room and around the pool or are they more tucked away in the jungle? Thank you in advance
You don’t have to worry. The resorts have greenery but are not in the jungle. You have little to none chance of even seeing one. Tarantulas live further inland anyways. Just enjoy your trip because you don’t have anything to worry about.
Hello there,
I am in a resort in playa and am LOVING all the amazing animals I have come across so far. However, I was walking back very late one night and just ahead of me were two very tall quadrupeds that ran off into the bush as we approached. I was stunned! They were the same height as the large deer we have in England but had very long tails like dogs. Any ideas?
Thanks in advance
That is great you are seeing so many animals here. We wish you got a photo of what you saw. It does not sound like any animal traditionally here. Unless it was a tapir. They are large and have a long tail. They are usually a little fatter looking then deer.
My wife and I live in Playa and hike deserted beaches regularly. On a dirt road just north of Zoetry we saw a caiman one day and a crocodile running down the road another day. Living in Playacar we’ve had an anteater, a porcupine (yellow quills!), possums, and of course tons of coatis and agoutis, plus monkeys in El Cielo. Have yet to see a jaguar though…
Hi, my husband and I are visiting Riviera Maya – spefically the Bahia Principe Sian Ka’an resort in early June for 10 days – do you think there will be mayn spiders / scorpions around? I am very sacred of bugs and snakes, and want to know the likelihood of these beings around, and possible in our room? I fear things being in shoes etc. Thanks very much for your help!
In the woods there are surely these nice creatures. It is not likely in the resort since there are daily housekeeping services and things are keep pretty clean. Even in nature it is not common to see them.
Hi, I stayed recently in tulum where the cenotes are. There was a moth of some sort as big as my hand. The body and legs are bigger than the wings. I tried to Google it, but couldn’t find anything like it. Any idea what it is?
We have seen some big months but are not sure which one you are referring to. Often the months like cold interior walls of old houses. Imagine having several of those flying around your house.
While staying at the Fives. Azul Beach resort. I was waiting for the wolf blood moon on January 20. The beach was busy with people waiting for eclipse.i took stroll down beach maybe five minutes away. A pack of dogs came running from a closed bar on beach and on bit through my capris and pierced my skin. I yelled and it scared the pack away. There were others around me on the beach and it happened so quickly. I was not sure if the dogs were guard dogs or wild dogs. When questioned the next day ?
These would not be guard dogs. These would be local dogs that run in a pack or abandoned dogs. There are many programs to neuter dogs because uncontrolled breeding leads to a lot of unwanted dogs. It is common to see dogs walking around town that are homeless.
It was years ago but still have nightmares. We stayed at The resort next doorto Xcarot, Riveria Maya. There’s dark walking paths thru some woods that end by the water and a couple small ruins. I saw some kind of nocturnal creature, walked upright, slight hunched over, about 4-5 ft tall. Face like a Lemur, but body long, skinny and didn’t see a tail. It came out walking near the ruins building, heard me,turned and looked at me. Eye contact for 5-10 seconds and then slipped into the dark. I was frozen in place and couldn’t get sound out of my mouth. By the time I could and call for my husband, the animal was gone. Husband said it was my imagination, but I know it wasn’t. Always wondered if anyone else that’s been there ever seen the animal and what could it of been
We have seen lots of animals and insects, having spent months in the Yucatan peninsula. I think the Tayra was the most unusual – beautiful and fast! Lots of birds – spoonbill, flamingos, Yucatec Jay, Toj (Mot Mot), summer tanager, orioles, chakalaka, T’u’ul, painted bunting, oscellated turkey, coati, spider monkey, crocs, mellodius blackbirds, great tailed grackle,leafcutter ants, Morph butterfly, orange yellow butterfly,tutrix(dragonfly), tapir, ocelot, green jay, indigo bunting, red-header woodpecker. malachite butterfuly and so many more!
I do love those little animals that run around the resort. They are like racoons and always looking for table scraps. After the show at the hotel where we stay, the tejones come in and eat off the table like they know when the time is the jump up on the tables. It is cute but not sanitary.