Furry Critters at Sandos Caracol Eco Resort

I recently stayed at the Sandos Caracol Eco-Resort near Playa del Carmen. As its name suggests, this is a place to enjoy nature, granted within an all-inclusive, large resort setting. I wanted to see some wildlife and I wasn’t disappointed.

One of the first animals I encountered was the very cute and somewhat comical coatimundis (coatis for short). Native to the Americas from the southwestern United States (we have them in my home state of New Mexico) through northern Uruguay, these members of the raccoon family seemed to be everywhere on the resort grounds. They were out scavenging food from trash cans and from that dropped by the resort guests. They didn’t seem to be aggressive, which isn’t surprising since they are in constant contact with people all around them.

When the day shift ended for the coati’s, their cousins, the raccoons, would come out on the night shift and look for leftovers from the day’s activities. Trash cans seemed to be no obstacle. Unlike the coatis, they were much more wary of people although they were still out and about. As such, I wasn’t able to get any good pictures of the little masked rascals.

If you visit Sandos, remember that although these animals are very comfortable around people, they are still wild. Don’t feed them or try to touch them as they may bite. Just enjoy their antics as they wander around the grounds of the resort. Next, I’ll introduce you to an animal at Sandos that looks like it could be straight out of Jurassic Park (although much smaller)