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Why Enrichment is SO Important
[In the picture above. Pablo, a volunteer, offers Izzy a customized paintbrush so she can become her very own Picasso.] The happiest animal is a free animal. The Toucan Rescue Ranch (TRR) and everyone that works here truly believe that. The goal of our organization is to keep animals free. The bulk of our animals arrive to our doorstep injured, sick or defenseless due to the direct or indirect action of people. Our first task is to heal them and try to release them, but a number of these animals are in such a shape that they couldn't survive in the wild. That's where TRR comes in. The rehabilitation center in San Josecito is where we keep our permanent residents and do our educational tours. It provides us with the means to keep the operation going while also helping us teach people how to prevent more issues with wildlife. While our Sanctuary conditions provide an optimal learning opportunity for our visiting humans, it can be bleak for our residents. In captivity, animals designed to survive in the ever-changing wild, now have to make little effort to survive. With their every need taken care of, animals tent to get restless, so we work hard to ensure our animals are engaged, entertained and enriched. The goal of our enrichment program is to make sure our residents do not go stir crazy and to encourage wild behavior associated with good mental health. Enrichment may vary from hiding their food to providing puzzles. Some examples include bathtubs for birds to encourage wild behavior, fruit burritos and food inside cardboard boxes to encourage foraging, new smells and live prey. Keeping animals free is our primary goal but keeping those who cannot be released happy and healthy is also a top priority. Stay tuned to our social media to learn more about our ongoing enrichment program and for updates on our animals. By Biologist Pedro Montero Castro
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A Fiery-Billed & Collared Aracari
In my opinion, working at the Ranch is a big responsibility and also a big pleasure. Seeing an animal grow stronger each passing day and recuperate from a bad situation is definitely a calling. This is what happened with two of our residents, the collared aracari and the fiery billed aracari. The collared aracari that joined us in February, had just escaped from being kept as a pet. His situation was evident. His back feathers were a dull gray compared to the iridescent black of a wild specimen. His chest was a pale white instead of the almost neon yellow characteristic to his species, and his beak was discolored as if drained of life. He started recuperating almost immediately. The protein we provided in his new diet and the attention he received started slowly turning his plumage brighter and brighter, until the day came when he finally was allowed outside the clinic and into a big enclosure with his own species. The transition process didn't go so well though. The other collared aracaris weren't so keen on accepting our little friend, so he was sent back to the clinic. That changed when we saw him interacting with another fiery-billed aracari who was also in the clinic. Hopeful plans were made as we put both aracaris into an enclosure of their own. Happily, they’ve accepted each other and now share this wonderful living space together at TRR. By former volunteer Andres Saenz Brautigam
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The Sloth Journals
Toffee, Female Two-Fingered Sloth Age: ~ 1-year, 9-months (slightly younger than Chai)Place of Origin: CartagoCurrent Weight: 1.4 kgNicknames: Tito, TotoroSpecial Talents: EatingLevel of Fluffiness: 10/10 Toffee is by far the fluffiest sloth at the ranch. One would imagine that she is the heaviest among the babies. It may appear so when you see her eating more than the other babies or racing them to get her share of milk before anyone else. But in reality, the hair only makes her appear as such. Once she is picked up to be fed or taken for a potty break, she is probably as heavy as Chispa. Her extreme fluffiness makes her an adorable teddy sloth, but her dedicated caretakers must ignore the urge to cuddle with her. She is a release candidate and must be treated and trained to be a wild sloth alongside pals Chai and Chispa. Once Toffee becomes a wild adult sloth, her fluffiness power will be put to use to get sloth gentlemen and continue her legacy in the wild. Happy #SlothSunday! You can symbolically adopt sloths like Toffee by visiting our Adoption Program! Article by intern Ana Maria Villada | Read more of these articles by subscribing to our newsletter!
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Izzy Makes a New Friend
It's difficult to not fear monkeys after being chased down by a group of macaque monkeys at the tender age of seven and, then again at the age of 20, being trapped in a bathroom by a large male patiently waiting for me outside the door. Needless to say, I've been traumatized by monkeys and held a fear for them my whole life. So you can imagine the day I arrived at the Toucan Rescue Ranch to see adult spider monkeys. I was quite surprised and very nervous. A few weeks went by and I plucked up the courage to begin helping with the spider monkeys morning and afternoon feeding. If I got a little too close, both Izzy and Noelia would reach through and grab chunks of my hair, taking my dignity with it. I was determined at this stage to conquer my fear and decided I would slowly work towards gaining their trust. In the afternoons, I would take them treats and after a period of time they started to warm up to me- Izzy in particular. I am now at the point where Izzy will anticipate my arrival at the enclosure and she will come down to greet me, following me as I manage their feeding and care. I've learnt that spider monkeys are very intelligent and can sense fear in people. As my fear disappeared the bond between us grew and I'm very grateful for having had this special time with her here at the Ranch. You can ADOPT Izzy or animals like her by visiting our ADOPTION page! By former volunteer Talia Harris | Read more about volunteer's experiences by subscribing to our newsletter!
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A Day in Rocky’s Quills
Hola my spiky amigos, My name is Rocky and the humans tell me that I am a baby Porcupine, whatever that is. All I know is that I am small and spiky and I love nibbling on corn. I´m not sure how I got here, but thank God I did. I remember being a very happy baby Porcupine. My mummy and I were living in a place full of little humans. I think you call it a school. I liked living there. I would listen to the tiny people playing and laughing while I cuddled with my mummy. But one day, the humans were much too close and much too loud. They were all around me and I was scared. Where was my mummy? I don’t know what happened. Maybe I fell? I can’t remember but I was all alone, surrounded by humans and my mummy was gone. I was so afraid. I cried. I used to cry a lot when I first lost my mummy. Luckily, a nice man who wasn't afraid of my spikes, bundled me up and brought me to this safe place. When I arrived I remember hearing the most loving sound- my new human mummy´s voice. Her name was Leslie. Leslie gave me lots of love and care and made me feel safe again. There are other people here that care for me too and they come and visit me every day. They bring me food and they talk to me. One human in particular loves to spend time with me. She comes almost every day and she talks to me and feeds me corn. She´s not afraid of my spikes either. She encourages me to sit up like a big boy and hold the corn myself to eat it, I drop it a lot but she always picks it up and hands it back to me. The only thing is, she talks funny- not like the rest of the humans, I´ve heard people say she is all the way from England so maybe that´s why. But it´s ok because I know she loves me. For a while I’ve been living in my own cage but I know there are other, bigger porcupines around me. I can hear them. A few days ago my cage was opened and now I get to roam around with my bigger amigos. I must admit, when I was feeling brave, I would sometimes make a run for it when the humans brought me my food. My escape never lasted long before the humans returned me to my safe cage. At first I was afraid to leave my cage, but one night I decided I had to be a brave boy and climbed all the way to the top of my new big house where the big Porcupines live. Their names are Merry and Pokey. Pokey sleeps all the time but Merry reminds me of my mummy. I think she will take care of me. The humans tell me that one day when I am big enough and strong enough, I will be released back into the wild. That´s very exciting! But for now, I am very happy in my home with all of these humans that love me. I am safe and I am very lucky my human mummy Leslie found me. I hope you enjoyed my story but now I must go, I see my humans coming with corn. Until next time my spiky amigos. You can adopt animals like Rocky by supporting our Adoption Program! By former volunteer Robyn Shimwell | You can read more articles like this one on our newsletter, subscribe today!
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