OK, we know that some of this will scare some of you, but we really hope to set your minds at ease. Eventually. Just keep in mind that you'll probably never see most of the animals mentioned below unless you live here or you routinely wander off into places most tourists don't go.
Our corner of the tropics is home to a wide diversity of creatures of which few visitors are aware.
Many birdwatchers come here and add dozens or scores of new species to their lists. But let’s talk about some of the creatures less commonly sought after, like lizards. Kids usually love to see them and there are lizards everywhere in our environment. Most are quite small and prowl through plants hunting insects. The ones called geckos live indoors and do the same thing, helping to keep down the number of insects in our homes. None of them is dangerous to humans, not even the green iguanas or the black iguanas which can both become quite large over the years.
One giant ‘lizard’ which could be dangerous (although we’ve never heard of anyone being hurt) is also the one most visitors want to see, the crocodile (cocodrilo); they live in the brackish waters of our estuaries. They’re nocturnal and shy, though, so you probably won’t see any unless you visit the crocodile farm on the way north to San Blas.
Among insects and their relatives, scorpions (alacranes) are probably highest on the visitor’s ‘fear factor’ list. You probably won’t see one unless you want to, when can you wander through fields lifting up rocks until you succeed. Although their sting is painful and can even make you feel ill, they can’t kill you like the ones in the movies do. Like all of our other wildlife, scorpions would prefer never to meet you and will run away from you if they can. If you need to look under rocks, just do so carefully.
We have mosquitoes (zancudos) and the tiny day-flying Aëdes aegypti species can carry Dengue Fever, a viral infection whose effects range from mild flu-like symptoms to, in very rare cases, death. Dengue has been increasing in much of the tropics lately including our area. While you’re highly unlikely to be bitten by an infected mosquito, use a repellent if these little daytime biters are around. Most visitors come to our area during the northern winter which is well into our long dry season, so mosquitoes aren’t much of a concern then except in areas of heavy vegetation and standing water.
The larger mosquitoes which fly and bite by night do not carry disease, but are annoying when present. And if you’re in certain places near the beach at dusk or dawn, the tiny midges people call ‘no-see-ums’ (jejenes) might send you running for shelter. Again, use insect repellent if you find them to be a problem.
Don’t touch any furry caterpillars. Some of them, including the Saddleback infamous throughout much of the U.S., have stinging hairs for their protection.
We have a species of red ant (hormiga) which enjoys a synergistic relationship with an Acacia species (a large genus of tropical shrubs and trees in the Pea family); the plant provides food and shelter for the ants and the ants, with their painful bites, protect the plant from grazing animals and plant-eating insects and any humans who happen to touch the plant.
There's another ant species, the leaf-cutter, which annoys us by stripping the leaves off our garden plants at certain times of the year.
We can’t leave the world of Arthropods without mentioning spiders (arañas). Almost all of them are harmless but, not knowing which ones aren’t, we simply avoid playing with them. Our favourite spider to see, though, is the Tarantula because it’s so impressively large and . . . well . . . beautiful. (Tarantula is the Spanish name which is commonly used by everyone; we’ve seen only two of them in more than nine years, both of them in the ranchlands.)
Snakes! That got a lot of people’s attention. As with most of our wildlife, you’ll probably never see a snake unless you’re wandering around in the forest and looking up. Most of our snakes (serpientes, víboras) live in trees and they certainly don’t like to hang around in town.
For the last part of our roundup of scary creatures, let’s turn to the sea. Sting Rays (rayas venenosas) do exist along our coast and hide in shallow water under a thin layer of sand. If you step on one it will reflexively jam a barb in its tail into you, causing severe pain for several hours. While this is not life-threatening, it can make you feel really bad for a day or so and medical attention is recommended to ameliorate the effects. If you’re in the water where other people are also
enjoying the ocean, chances
are that all of the stingrays have been scared away. But you might want to shuffle your feet along the bottom as you walk out just to make sure.
Jellyfish (aguamalas)occasionally come into the bay, a whole bunch of them at once and then none for a long time. They usually show up during the summer when the surface of the ocean is quite warm; there are big, dinner-plate-size transparent ones which don’t seem to bother anyone and small, bluish ones (we’ve heard them called Portuguese Men-of-War) with stinging tentacles. During the winter they’re all uncommon.
We also have a species or two of venomous sea snakes, but have never heard of them being anywhere near shore. The only one we’ve seen in ten years was dead and had presumably been tossed overboard by a fisherman out at sea.
And that’s all for the 
many scary things you’ll probably never encounter while here.
Let’s talk about some of the fuzzier, cuddlier things you’ll probably never see!
Our local squirrel (ardilla) is scientifically Sciurus nayaritensis, named after our home state. We also have opossums (zorros) and skunks (zorrillos), rabbits (conejos) and very small deer (venado). We’ve only seen one coyote (that’s another Spanish word) but have heard many when
camped overnight away from the towns. Armadillos (also a Spanish name) can be seen even in town, albeit rarely. We know the little wild pigs called peccaries (javelinas) live here, but they’re probably really delicious on the barbecue and, as a consequence, we’ve never seen one.
Although we don’t have any monkeys (monos) this far north, we do have six species of wildcats, and some creatures you won’t see outside of the tropics like the Ringtail (cacomixtle) and the Coati (tejón), both relatives of the raccoon (mapache), which is also here.
Back to the sea, magnificent and huge manta rays can
often be seen below the surface of the water and occasionally jumping out of the water, an awe-inspiring sight . . . although maybe seeing a humpback whale (offshore, sometimes close, from December to April) breaching will be even more impressive. Pods of dolphins (delfines) are also spotted playing in the bay during the winter.
During the summer, Hawksbill (tortuga carey) and Olive Ridley (tortuga golfina) sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs, often a hundred or more per nest.
These are endangered, protected species, as are most sea
turtles everywhere, and a local conservation group works with others in México and worldwide for their welfare.
So aside from some of the insects and lizards which you’ll probably see here, you’ve read about another small part of the diverse wildlife in this area - which you’ll probably never see. If you are lucky enough to encounter some of these other animals, consider yourself lucky and enjoy some more of the beauty of coastal Nayarit.
