Animals of Suriname

I am on a crazy French keyboard, so sorry for any typos. Here are pictures of some of the cutest, cuddliest, and tastiest animals that we saw in the very nice forests of Suriname:

Me holding a sloth! This is a three toed sloth, sometimes called a sun sloth because of the bright yellow orange area on its back. He was trying to cross a busy road, so we helped him.

This is the much larger two toed sloth, called the sheep sloth by the locals This guy was crossing a much less busy road in the middle of nowhere. No one really picks them up. Unfortunately, this guy was also spotted by some locals, who consider sloth an easy protein source...

If I were a country, lizards would definitely be in contention for my obsession. So many types, colorful, and some will sit for a photo. No idea what kind this is, but I really like them.

This are called comi-comi birds, presumably because they collaborated with the Russians in the Cold War. Or maybe they just make a sound that sounds vaguely like that.

A red howler monkey with a baby! These monkeys make the loudest noise of any land animal except for me after losing a game to Tara.

Money may not grow on trees in Suriname, but butterflies do. These sleep on this tree everynight. Seems like a bird might catch on...

This toad is called a whistling toad and makes a noise that sounds more like a bird. It is also huge. Nearly the size of Tara. And we saw even bigger ones, but Tara ate those before I could take the picture.

Poison dart frogs! This one is apparently a very rare one, as our guide had never seen one in person. National Geographic, you will need to pay me before using this image.

This is called a dyeing poison dart frog and is more common, but this was apparently a very nice one. He was nice enough to let us get close for a picture. Our guide spotted this guy from about 100 feet away out the back of our hut. It took him pointing at it from about 12 inches before I saw it.

Beautiful butterflies everywhere. Pictures included mostly for the benefit of our butterfly loving mothers.

The tree frogs in Suriname are also huge. This one was probably 6 inches long and could have eaten every tree frog I have ever seen for dinner. You can see in the picture that he hangs of both sides of a 2 x 4.

Overall, Suriname was a great country for wildlife spotting, even if it was expensive. And it only took us a day or two to become fluent in Dutch. Seriously, the Dutch figured out years ago that Dutch is a useless language, so everyone learns perfect English and about 3 other languages. Why continue the charade? Get rid of Dutch. No one needs it. Even as we were leaving, the official exit sign for the country said goodbye in English and French. No Dutch.