One of three Jaguars at the Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary Their story below.
This is our last day in Monteverde, we're heading back to San Jose later today; some of our group will be heading home on Sunday and the rest of us are continuing on to Manuel Antonio National Park for a few days. We'll be leaving the cool air of the mountains and traveling south towards the Gulf of Nicoya and the hot and steamy weather for a visit to the Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary.
So it's suitcases outside our doors and breakfast at 7 a.m. (we're getting used to this schedule). We enjoy a nice buffet breakfast at the El Establo Hotel then head to the coach for our 8 a.m. departure.
Before we head out I get to say goodbye to a tour guide I was hanging out with on my zip line adventure on Friday.
We have about an hours drive to the Sanctuary and the landscape is pretty rugged.
Eric finds a pull off and we stop for a group photo.
The view here is beautiful.
We drive through Aranjuez and see one of the Skydive Pura Vida folks-it look like they are landing on the mountain top. But they are heading to that field in front of the tree line for a soft, safe landing.
We arrive at Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary for a tour of their facility.
The Natuwa Wildlife Sanctuary provides refuge and protection to wildlife that cannot return to their natural environment, such as: macaws, ocelots, tapirs, monkeys, jaguars and also some animals from other countries. It's a place where wild animals are rehabilitated then released and they also provide housing and care for those that cannot be released.
It's brutally hot today, like 89 degrees F with 80% humidity. While waiting for our tour to begin the staff offer us cold water and bananas and watermelon to help us cool off. And a local Howler Monkey wakes up and start watching us.
We meet with our guide and she shows us around the facility, explaining how the animals came to be housed at the Sanctuary. Many were confiscated out of the black market animal trade. Some were injured or lost their natural habitat due to human expansion and construction in the rainforest.
There are a lot of sad stories but the animals seem well cared for now. The animals that can be released back into the wild are kept away from tourists and the ones that cannot be released, for whatever reason, are used to education the locals and tourists about these animals.
They have a number of Green Macaws which have been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species
IUCN Redlist. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information sources on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.
Many of the animals have been brought to the Sanctuary by
SINAC officers. But some of the birds we see are wild; Scarlet Macaws use the Sanctuary as a stopover during their migrations.
There are many sloths living on the Sanctuary grounds. Sloths are frequently victims of accidents when crossing roads, which leaves their young stranded without maternal care. In addition, power lines represent an additional threat, as sloths use these structures to move between forest fragments, exposing them to serious burns from electrocution.
Occasionally sloths are brought to the Sanctuary following attacks from dogs after the sloth has enter human's properties, the dog's are just doing their jobs protecting the humans but the sloths can suffer.
The
Hyacinth macaw holds the title of being the largest flying parrot in the world. One rescued macaw is on display during visitor hours.
We even saw a couple of toucans.
The
Jaguar Rescue Story: Three jaguars (Panthera Onca) were rescued thanks to the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and were brought to
NATUWA wildlife center. These big cats arrived as puppies just a few weeks old. Our guide told us they had been kept as household pets but they quickly outgrew the home and were rescued.
We say goodbye to all our new feathered, furry and shelled friends and head back to San Jose (in weekend traffic!).
We arrived back at the
Crowne Plaza Corobici with a little time for a quick shower before heading out for our farewell dinner (to some of our crew!) and a birthday celebration for Katja at the
Mirador Tiquicia restaurant.
The views high up on the hill above San Jose are stunning.
Music filled the air as we made our way through the buffet line of typical "Tica" food.
We celebrate Katja on her birthday.
Then the dancing begins.
Traditional Dance video:
https://photosbynanci.smugmug.com/Costa-Rica/December-9/i-Tc8SL4X/ANext up: Manuel Antonio Park
