Shock Free Zone

Every year more than 3,000 animals become victims of electrocution. Dozens of mammals such as monkeys, sloths, anteaters, foxes, squirrels as well as birds and reptiles die daily on electricity power lines throughout the country.

Almost all of the power lines used in Costa Rica are aerial and are constructed with insulating conductive materials (bare aluminium conductors). They are a continuous cause of electrocution risk for any living being that has contact with or approaches the lines.

The low voltage or secondary lines have a voltage level of 120 and 240 volts. The medium voltage or primary distribution lines have voltages higher than 14,000 volts. Both types of line have the potential to cause electrocution of any living being. The transformers that are installed in the poles have the same voltage levels as the power lines and are therefore equally as dangerous to fauna as the lines themselves.

Our program has the cooperation of ICE (the national grid electricity provider) and the supervision of MINAE (the government body responsible for the environment). We have identified the black spots where more accidents occur in the South Caribbean area and that require the most urgent attention and are currently in talks to sign a formal cooperation agreement that should be ready in the coming weeks.

The La Ceiba Primary Forest Foundation must provide insulating materials and equipment in cases where ICE does not have sufficient stock.

Wildlife monitoring program

Camera traps have become an important tool for monitoring those species which are difficult to observe, also covering a wide range of environments that other methods do not allow.

Cameras have multiple uses, from identifying individual species to assessing the size of a population and various aspects of their ecology and behavior. This makes the use of camera traps one of the most important and versatile methods for biological research and conservation studies.

This technique for wildlife studies is based on the use of cameras with thermal sensors, allowing you to photograph animals that pass in front of the lens' range. The method consists of placing trap cameras in preselected sampling stations (randomly or systematically).

With this technology we can distinguish and confirm the presence of species that are difficult to recognize by their footprints or other indications, and allow behavior studies, activity patterns and population estimates.

Improvement and Renovation of Equipment

The current crisis of biological diversity shown (though not exclusively) by the loss of wild flora and fauna, represents a notable threat to the health and future prosperity of humanity.

In order to meet the objective of conserving biological diversity and endangered species, it is necessary to have wildlife hospitals where workers are professionals specializing in the wildlife of the area and equipped with all the necessary means for the rescue and transportation of animals, as well as complete clinical care, clinical and postmortem diagnostic methods and hospitalization and rehabilitation facilities.

In the South Caribbean area, organizations that must attend to injured or abandoned wild animals need adequate technical equipment to provide comprehensive professional care. By being fully prepared with the correct equipment and facilities, we can ensure the best chance of survival for any animals being treated and avoid unnecessary transportation and treatment costs at other organizations.

Environmental Awareness Program

Aware of the importance of wildlife conservation in the South Caribbean and the role of environmental education, we want to launch an Environmental Education Program for schoolchildren as a guarantee of sustainable development.

Environmental Education should be seen as a tool that allows us to face new environmental challenges, by promoting a generation that will more consciously take care of the environment and its challenges.