Las Pumas

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I have been cuddling with a puma!! The last two weeks I've been working as a volunteer at the rescue shelter for felines and other wild animals that are taken care of because they are injured, mal treated or confiscated by the government. I saw a lot of animals I would never see in the wild and I learnt a lot about taking care of wild animals. Every day I fed the cats with beef, luckily I never had to feed them with the head.. Uuuhh... Most fun was going in to the jaguar Rafa's cage (while he was locked up in another cage), hide his food in the trees, and then let him run and find it. He loved it and it made me glad to see. I was also thinking of constructing toys for the animals, but the least complicated and still very appreciated time consumer for the white faced monkeys was a few coconuts. Kept them busy and it's all natural. I was working there with Cathy, a californian wild life rehabilitator who travels to different places every year, working as a volunteer. She contributes with a lot of ideas and knowledge to the places she goes to. Do you think I kind of liked her type of job...? There was also Estelle, another volunteer, Martha, the vet, Germania, a biologist (who apparently knows Soledad who was in Aqaba!!) and Maria Carmen in the office. Great to get to know all these people from different parts of the world, all working for the same thing. And it was nice to meet Don Werner, who founded the rescue shelter together with his wife Lilly (who passed away a few years ago), and made a great effort rescuing many injured animals.

At the centre there was an area for animals who were taken care of and could never be released again (too dependent on humans or not capable of surviving in the wild for other reasons). There was also the Quaranteen, where animals were kept before being released back into the wild. There were some puma kittens, deer, howler monkeys, ant eaters, a racoon... It was great to see that some animals were going back out in the forest too. However, there is a problem. There are a lot of forests in Costa Rica, but apparently not enough space for reintroducing healthy animals, and the pumas for example, will most likely stay in the rescue shelter.

So yes, I cuddled with Julieta, the puma, Rafa, the jaguar, and I had little pumitas and ant eaters running around outside when I had breakfast.. What a life for 2 weeks.. I'd do it again! Oh, I shouldn't forget about the black sheep.. Every day I also fed an orphant black sheep who was injured but taken care of at the centre (they also have a farm where they get their own milk, meat and eggs). Kind of a big baby, that sheep.. Cuddly too!

Next, I'm off to Puerto Jimenez to meet some friends for the week end. And next week Vanja and Terje are coming here from Sweden!!!

Hasta luego!

PS Unfortunately a problem with the photos but I'll put more up soon

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Ok, I've finally added some more photos! Enjoy!

Many people have contacted me to find out how to volunteer there. I'll write the contact details I have, I hope they are still valid!

web site: laspumas.org
e-mail: [e-mail]
phone: [phone]

Good luck! I highly recommend volunteering at Las Pumas! The cats are amazing and the work is very rewarding! And feel free to contact me if you have questions!

/Helena

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Photos

Cathy Case
Cathy also volunteered and taught me everything about treating wild captive animals.

Germania and Maria del Carmen
In the office! Worked in here as well..

Zorro gris
There were also two very sweet grey foxes!

Comments

[Ariane]

Toucan
The Toucan is beautiful, almost looks unreal! I will be in Mexico City around mid July (for business), would you be nearby? Ariane

[Mi]

Envious - me!?
Hej darling! Varför kommer du inte tillbaks till Sverige när du säger att du ska!? När du kommer har jag enligt planerna redan lämnat landet - förhoppningsvis för gott. Så då får vi väl ses i Israel igen! Saknar dig faktiskt - vilket kanske är lite konstigt med tanke på att vi aldrig umgåtts särskilt intensivt - men det är alltid lika trevligt, så det är väl därför!Du verkar verkligen ha det underbart - fortsätt med det! Men jag hoppas du vet att du är saknad av fler än jag! Krams