In 2011, our foundation became certified as the first rescue center in Costa Rica accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS).
In 2016, we resumed construction of a new Wildlife Hospital with an area of 7 acres, which was completed in in 2017. This new facility has tripled our capacity for receiving wild animals in need of rescue and rehabilitation, allowing us to serve more than 7,500 animals per year.
In November of 2016 we received Kivú, an elderly lion rescued from the Simón Bolívar National Zoo. Here, Kivú was able to live out his last days with dignity and a quality of life where he enjoyed much more space, attention, and an ideal diet for his species.
We built a special off-exhibit enclosure here for Kivú in a forested area of 4,000 square feet, which today serves as a rehabilitation enclosure for wild cats.
Endangered species reintroduction:
More than 500 Great Curassows (Crax rubra) were bred through our Endangered Animal Reproduction Center (CRAVE). These individuals have been successfully re-established in the area and have grown into a thriving population with individuals now seen more than 20 kilometers from the original release site.
In addition, Rescate Wildlife has rehabilitated and released over 50 Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) that had been previously kept as pets. Since the beginning of the project to date, this reintroduced population is now thriving and 80 Spider Monkeys have been born in the wild where they live freely.
In 2016, we started the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) reintroduction project in Bosque Escondido and have since released more than 35 individuals. Our goal is to release a total of 300 Scarlet Macaws in the next 15 years which will contribute to reestablishing a stable, healthy population in the area.
The Scarlet Macaw, Great Curassow and Spider Monkey are all species which became extinct in the Nicoya Peninsula more than 70 years ago. The Spider Monkey is the most endangered primate of Costa Rica, and can be seen again today in the wild thanks to the efforts of our foundation.