“Don’t take out of my habitat. Just because you found me without my mom doesn’t mean I’ve been abandoned”
If you are going on a trip to national parks and natural sites during this Holy Week, it is important to take into account that not all wild infants need to be “rescued”.
Las Pumas Rescue Center and various state institutions launched the “Do not take me out of my habitat” information campaign, which hopes to raise awareness among the population of the need for these animals to live in the place where they belong.
At Easter, the general population goes out for a walk to places where there are many wild animals and therefore, people see many baby animals (infants) alone; but not in all cases their mothers have died.
Esther Pomareda, biologist of Las Pumas Rescue Center explained that
the campaign consists of informing and educating the population in general, that before ‘rescuing’ any infant animal, whether it is a cub or a pigeon, from the forest, they make sure that the mother is dead or that she can’t really go back to her offspring.
The campaign includes the training of all those people -mostly officials- who receive calls to deal with these cases, on how to act in the various situations that arise. This center receives an average of 157 animals per year from 46 different species, such as margay cats, congo monkeys, foxes, porcupines, coatis, raccoons and squirrels, turtles and boas, parrots, owls, and toucans.
Only in 8% of the cases are they sure that the mother was dead when the animal was rescued, according to the center’s records in the last five years. It is estimated that 43% of these animals could have been saved outside and did not need to be rescued.
While the campaign is focused on the province of Guanacaste, part of Alajuela (Upala) and Puntarenas (Nicoya Peninsula), the digital material can be used nationally. The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), the Fire Department, the Public Force, and other institutions participated in the preparation of the campaign.