Volunteer at Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary: Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation, and Release

Nancy HuffmanCollege Park Scholars – Science & Global Change Program

Animal Sciencenhuffman@terpmail.umd.edu

College Park Scholars Academic Showcase, May 4, 2018

Acknowledgments: Thank you to Alice and Loyal for being amazing supervisors, and to Tom for making this place possible. To Dr. Holtz & Dr. Merck, thank you for your never ending support and encouragement. To the Dream Team, thank you for being the best friends possible.

Site Information Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary

Dominical, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

Supervisor: Alice Slade, Volunteer Coordinator

Mission statement: Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary is dedicated to the protection and conservation of Costa Rica’s wildlife. To accomplish this, we provide wildlife rehabilitation, environmental education and implement wildlife research.

To learn more, donate, or volunteer, go to: https://alturaswildlifesanctuary.org

Favorite AnimalSouthern Two-toed Sloths named Mocha and Florcita (pictured above) were both orphaned as babies, but are now inseparable from one another. Sloths eat mostly leaves and flowers with some fruits and vegetables. As they rarely climb down from the trees, sloths get all the water they need through their food!

Volunteer Duties•Daily food preparation and water replenishing for all animals.•Cleaning and maintaining all animal enclosures.

• Removing old food & dead/dying branches.• Replacing dirty blankets & cloths with clean ones.• Rinsing down cages.• Sanitizing /washing all bowls, blankets, cloths, etc.

•Collecting enrichment (i.e. natural sources of entertainment and education, like special branches) from surrounding property and distributing to animals. •Building new animal enclosures.

• Preparing solid ground in cages.• Collecting branches, rocks, and other natural items as

materials to install. • Securing boxes, toys, platforms, and nets in place.

•Site & property maintenance.• Installing new fencing around all enclosures.• Various upkeep duties (raking, laundry, etc.)

ImpactCosta Rican wildlife has become more and more threatened in the past few decades due to anthropogenic causes. Habitat loss, car accidents and electrical shocks are common for wildlife, as well as exotics being taken in illegally and raised as domestic pets.

The animals at Alturas are brought in for these reasons, with either medical or behavioral disabilities that would not allow them to survive in the wild. Some are deemed permanent stays and given a home in the sanctuary (these are typically those too assimilated to human care to fend for themselves). Most, however, are rehabilitated and released once they are back to full health, and often tracked by Alturas to ensure they are doing well on their own.

ApplicationAs an Animal Science student, working in Costa Rica has solidified my career goals and given me invaluable experience working up close with exotic animals. After volunteering at Alturas, I now know that I want to work in a zoological setting, caring for animals of all shapes and sizes. Additionally, I want to educate the public on why wild animals are so important, and what they can do to contribute to conservation efforts. As a Science and Global Change student, I also learned about practical ways to help the environment in the field, and the intricacies of Costa Rican wildlife and ecology.

The College Park Scholars volunteers, nicknamed “The Dream Team” by Alturas staff. (From left): Nick, Jaclyn, Akash, Jamie, Nancy, Colin, and Maggie.

Above: Finished enclosure, complete with tarped floor, feed platform, and rope net. This enclosure was designed specifically for Ritchie the sloth, who had lost an upper arm, and was limited in climbing ability. Below: Cutting up branches to use for Ritchie’s enclosure.

Right: Three Red-lored Parrots sitting on a food perch having breakfast. The sanctuary parrots ate a combination of finely chopped fruits and berries, as well as seeds, nuts and flowers. These Parrots lived in a large open enclosure amongst numerous other birds, including a variety of Parakeets, Parrots, and Macaws. Left: Chester the Geoffrey’s Spider Monkey eating a banana and enjoying the attention of the volunteers. Chester lives in a large enclosure with twin brother Fester, both of whom are very agile and full of energy, constantly jumping around and swinging from branches.